- Democratic Nashville Mayor Megan Barry admitted to having an expensive affair.
- Barry may face criminal charges for public official misconduct and theft of property.
- The mayor allegedly spent nearly $33,000 of the government’s money on her affair.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has received information that could lead to criminal charges against Democratic Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, according to a Thursday report. Barry reportedly faces criminal charges for misconduct of public officials and employees and theft of property.
Barry, who admitted she had an expensive affair with her head of security detail using taxpayer dollars, was reportedly in possession of nude photos of a woman taken on the phone of former Sergeant Rob Forrest, the man she had an affair with. Barry also allegedly deleted text messages between her and Forrest.
Nashville Judge Steve Dozier signed an affidavit in support of a search warrant for information on the mayor’s phone in reference to the affair she had using taxpayer dollars.
“A search of Megan Barry’s phone could reveal information that is crucial evidence for this case,” the affidavit stated. “In particular, data and information that has been deleted from Sgt. Forrest’s phone may still exist on Megan Barry’s phone.”
The affidavit made it clear that text messages between Barry and her security detail were deleted.
“The deleted chats and messages between Sgt. Forrest and Megan Barry, if recovered, could provide further evidence of their activities while Sgt. Forrest reported to be on duty,” the affidavit continued.
Barry, who is married, apologized for having an affair with Metro police Sgt. Forrest and using nearly $33,000 of the government’s money on their travel expenses over the last 10 months. Barry claims that her trips as mayor of Nashville, Tenn., were for business, including trips to Paris and Athens. However, Barry does not think she improperly misused taxpayer money, NPR reported.
“I’m embarrassed, and I am sad, and I am so sorry for all the pain that I have caused my family and his family,” Barry said Wednesday. “I know that God will forgive me, but that Nashville doesn’t have to. … I hope that I can earn your trust back and that you will forgive me.” (RELATED: Dem Mayor Admits She Had Expensive Affair With Head Of Security Detail)
The mayor also traveled with Forrest to Washington, D.C.; New York; Denver; Oakland, Calif.; Salt Lake City and Kansas City. Although she apologized she did not resign or even mention resigning. Barry claimed law enforcement set the policy for her coverage and that Forrest’s protection was necessary on her trips.
“I’ve had a very aggressive schedule, I’m out in the community, and that’s reflected with the overtime that has been billed to my detail,” Barry said. “The police set the policy for the kind of detail coverage that a mayor gets, and I have been the recipient of that. I have taken trips that have included detail and those trips have always been for business.”
If found guilty, Barry could lose her position as mayor of Nashville and face serious criminal charges.
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