A Montgomery County assistant state's attorney will take over the prosecution of Annapolis mayoral candidate Samuel E. Shropshire, the city alderman accused of groping a Naval Academy midshipman, as Anne Arundel County prosecutors seek to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest.
"We have two people in our office who work with him on the city council, and one of them is an opponent in the mayor's race," said Kristin Fleckenstein, spokeswoman for the state's attorney's office.
David Cordle, a Republican mayoral candidate and alderman, is the chief investigator for the Anne Arundel County state's attorney's office. Frederick Paone, a Republican alderman, is an assistant state's attorney who works on appeals. Shropshire is a Democrat.
Shropshire, 61, also an alderman, is charged with second-degree assault and a fourth-degree sex offense, both misdemeanors.
The office has brought in outside prosecutors before in cases where there could be an appearance of a conflict of interest in a practice that goes on around the state.
"We're ready to try it against whoever wants to prosecute it," said Gill Cochran, Shropshire's lawyer.
Shropshire, who on Thursday referred all questions to his lawyer, has maintained his innocence.
A trial is scheduled for Aug. 25 in Annapolis District Court.
The accuser was described as a midshipman sponsored by Shropshire in a program that links Annapolis-area residents with midshipmen to offer the students a break from the rigors of academy life. Shropshire had sponsored many midshipmen over about 20 years, but as a result of the allegations, he is no longer a sponsor.
The 21-year-old was Shropshire's passenger shortly after 11 p.m. May 14 and they were near the academy when Shropshire "reached over and placed his hand on [the man's] crotch and grabbed his genitals," according to charging documents filed by Annapolis police.
