More than two months have passed since the investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) into the circumstances surrounding Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell’s relationship with a 17-year-old was completed and the information was turned over to Special Prosecutor Thomas B. Heffelfinger for review. The county attorney, the young woman’s family—and the community—are still waiting for some kind of decision from Heffelfinger.
In a phone conversation on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, Heffelfinger, who was appointed by the Sixth Judicial District Court on March 25, had nothing to add to what he said shortly after taking on the special prosecutor position. At that time he explained that he had been appointed “to review the BCA documents for potential prosecution, and, if appropriate, to conduct a prosecution.”
In this week’s conversation, Heffelfinger said he could not divulge the target of the investigation, but reaffirmed that he had been appointed to assist in an investigation for the BCA in Cook County. The BCA began the investigation in December 2012 at the request of the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office. Sheriff Mark Falk has confirmed that the investigation is related to County Attorney Scannell.
Asked if he could give an idea of when his review would be complete, Heffelfinger said he could not give a timeframe, but added, “I don’t want to imply that nothing is being done. That is not the case. The investigation is ongoing.”
The BCA investigation followed the December 4, 2012 harassment restraining order issued against Scannell by a Cook County family concerned for the safety and wellbeing of their 17-year-old daughter. The harassment restraining order remains in force regarding contact with the family until December 4, 2014.
Cook County Attorney Scannell had first gained local and national attention on December 15, 2011 after being critically injured in a shooting in the county attorney’s office. Scannell was shot by a defendant he had successfully convicted of criminal sexual conduct with a teenaged girl. The county attorney initiated litigation in April 2013 against Cook County related to that shooting.
Scannell continues to be in the spotlight as some citizens doggedly campaign for his removal from the county attorney position. There have been facebook pages dedicated to requesting his resignation and every Friday and most Wednesdays there have been picketers outside the Cook County courthouse requesting his resignation. The protest began with one solitary protestor and now varies in number from two to a dozen people.
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