ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 08: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Raphael Warnock speaks at a campaign event with former Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro on December 8, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Warnock is campaigning in the state ahead of his January 5th runoff election against Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA). (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
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UPDATED 3:40 PM PT – Saturday, December 12, 2020
As the runoff election in Georgia heats up, police officers in Maryland are criticizing Democrat candidate Raphael Warnock for his role in a past child abuse case.
According to a resurfaced police file from 2002, Georgia senatorial candidate Raphael Warnock was “extremely uncooperative” and “disruptive” towards a probe into child abuse. The alleged abuse took place at a summer camp affiliated with his church.
The ‘Free Beacon‘ obtained the report from Maryland State Police earlier this month. It outlines allegations from police that claim Warnock obstructed an investigation into a non-sexual abuse case at ‘Camp Farthest Out’ in Eldersburg, Maryland.
Authorities wrote that Warnock and one other reverend “interfered by interrupting interviews and directing people not to talk to investigators.”
According to reports, the Democrat and additional reverend refused to leave officials alone with the children being questioned. The report also states the second reverend grabbed a child’s arm and urged them not to answer questions.
During the Senate runoff debate, Sen. Kelly Loeffler asked about the reverend’s alarming history.
“Reverend Warnock, you were arrested for obstructing police in the arrests in a child abuse investigation,” Loeffler noted. “Can you tell me the nature of this child abuse? Why were the police called and what was your knowledge or involvement in this incident?”
“Here are the facts, and Kelly Loeffler actually knows them,” Warnock stated. “I was working and trying to make sure that young people, who were being questioned by law enforcement, had the benefit of counsel, a lawyer or a parent.”
During police interviews, Warnock tried to request lawyers for camp workers. However, the law allows interviewees to request lawyers for themselves and Warnock could not do so on their behalf, even though he tried.
The Senate candidate was then arrested for hindering and obstructing the investigation. However, Warnock’s charges were dropped three months later.
Warnock allegedly left the church around the same time, but according to state officials, the case records are currently missing.
Georgia’s two Senate runoff elections take place on January 5 and will determine which political party will control the upper chamber of Congress.