Asst. prosecutor apologizes to judge

YOUNGSTOWN – A judge has canceled a contempt of court hearing he had scheduled for this morning for an assistant county prosecutor whose failure to appear for a trial led to dismissal of criminal charges and freedom for the suspect.

“Atty. (Natasha) Frenchko has accepted responsibility and has apologized to the court for her failure to appear,” for a scheduled jury trial on Tuesday, Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court said in a news release late Wednesday.

“I am satisfied from her explanation that there was no intent on her part to disrespect the court or to negatively impact the administration of justice,” the judge added, declining to be interviewed.

Frenchko was presenting a seminar for nurses at St. Elizabeth Health Center on how to interview rape and domestic violence victims on the morning Kenneth R. Miller, 27, of Martin Luther King Boulevard, was to go to trial on robbery, felonious assault and domestic violence charges.

For more, see Thursday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com