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A Missouri district attorney has been stripped of her powers after the state attorney general accused her of a series of inappropriate relationships with people involved in criminal cases in her county, including an illegal immigrant defendant facing sex crime charges.
A motion for quo order filed by the state attorney general accuses Ray County District Attorney Camille Johnston of failing to recuse herself from the investigation of illegal immigrant Juan David Gutierrez, not disclosing his whereabouts to law enforcement, and failing to transfer ownership of her car to him to help him escape. The filing also alleges that Johnston had other inappropriate relationships that created conflicts of interest, including with a criminal defense attorney and a man charged with domestic violence in Ray County.
Meanwhile, the attorney general’s motion against Johnston, which prompted a judge to issue a preliminary order barring her from exercising prosecutorial powers until the case is resolved, alleges Johnston retaliated against an employee who discovered one affair and created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in her office.
“When an elected official treats public office as his personal playground, betraying the public trust, ignoring legal obligations and putting personal interests first, removal from office is not a suggestion but a necessity,” Missouri Attorney General Kathryn Hanaway told Fox News Digital. “Johnston’s record reflects a persistent pattern of misconduct and willful neglect that has undermined the integrity of the prosecutor’s office and poses a serious threat to public safety. In Missouri, public office is a public trust, not a private right, and no one is above responsibility.”
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Missouri Attorney General Katherine Hanaway has filed a motion to remove Ray County Prosecutor Camille Johnston (R) from her position. (Facebook/Camille Johnston, Ray County Prosecutor)
Hanaway’s office told Fox News Digital that Johnston is “not authorized to take any action in any official capacity” and while she may fight for reinstatement as the proceedings continue, “she is no longer the Ray County prosecutor at this time.” The Attorney General’s Office also confirmed that the sexual assault suspect identified in the petition as “JG” is Juan David Gutierrez, whose case is currently pending but pending appeal in another case.
Johnston “was unable to recuse himself from the investigation” of the underlying sexual assault case involving Gutierrez, Hanaway’s office said, noting that a local court later appointed the Missouri Attorney General’s Office to prosecute the case.
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According to the petition, Johnston and Gutierrez lived together and were involved in romantic and intimate relationships before she took office as Ray County District Attorney on Jan. 1, 2023. The document states that Johnston was informed as early as Sept. 15, 2020, that Gutierrez was a sexual assault suspect in Ray County, adding that he is currently awaiting trial on a criminal sex offense.
Local outlet KSHB reported that the Missouri State Highway Patrol said authorities had not found Gutierrez when the Missouri State Highway Patrol turned over its findings to the attorney general’s office in 2020, and that the attorney general’s office later dismissed the charge and closed the case in 2022. However, according to KSHB, the case was reopened after a private investigator volunteering to work on the cold case later reported it to then-Ray County Sheriff Scott Childers. who in 2023 sent an email to the attorney general’s office with information that could help find Gutierrez.
Then-U.S. Attorney Katherine Hanaway (left) speaks to reporters after Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (right) announced her nomination as the state’s next attorney general on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, at the Governor’s Capitol Office in Jefferson City, Missouri. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
The attorney general’s office separately told Fox News Digital that Johnston admitted to knowing about Gutierrez’s immigration status for several years. The petition alleges that Gutierrez is a Mexican citizen who has been in the United States illegally since 2019.
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The petition also alleges that Johnston knew Gutierrez’s whereabouts after he left Missouri, failed to disclose that information to law enforcement, visited him in Mississippi and vacationed with him in Florida. He accuses Johnston of transferring ownership of her car to Gutierrez in 2023 and claims she “helped” him escape from Ray County, knowing he had been charged with a sex crime and was under criminal investigation.
Johnston’s attorney, Chad Gardner, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Local media previously identified Gardner as Johnston’s lawyer.
Federal agents arrest an illegal immigrant from Somalia. (Courtesy of ICE)
In addition to Johnston’s relationship with Gutierrez, the petition also accuses Johnston of maintaining a romantic relationship with a Ray County attorney who represented criminal defendants in cases brought by her office, without allegedly disclosing the relationship or contacting the special prosecutor in those cases.
The petition separately alleges that Johnston had another romantic relationship with a man accused of domestic violence and was later removed from prosecution in that case after local law enforcement learned of the alleged relationship and contacted a special prosecutor.
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Meanwhile, in addition to the improper relationships, Johnston allegedly “deliberately created” an atmosphere of fear and intimidation within the Ray County Prosecutor’s Office by verbally berating officers and employees. The lawsuit further alleges that the former employee learned that Johnston was in a romantic relationship that could create a conflict of interest, and that Johnston retaliated by firing the employee after learning that they knew about the relationship.
The petition states that in each of the alleged relationships, Johnston admitted wrongdoing but continued the behavior, withheld information about the relationships and “falsely denied the existence” of the allegedly incriminating relationship during questioning.
Hanaway’s office said it supports the allegations contained in the petition but was unable to comment on the possibility of criminal charges against Johnston.
Alec Schemmel is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, but now based in the Washington-Baltimore metro area.