Judge In Wenatchee Child Sex Ring Cases Resigns Chelan County Jurist Will Take Job As Legal Services Manager For Pud

A Chelan County Superior Court judge who was sharply criticized by some for her handling of the so-called Wenatchee child sex ring cases has resigned to work for the county’s public utility district.

Judge Carol Wardell announced her resignation effective in January in a one-page letter to the media on Monday. She will be the PUD’s legal services manager, overseeing all legal contracts and providing legal advice to the PUD board.

She is to start her new job March 1.

“I’m still happy with my job as a judge,” Wardell said. “But there are frustrations and heartache that go along with it that will be nice not to have to face every day. … I think I will be happier with a new challenge where I won’t have to be dealing with criminals and divorces every day.”

Wardell was appointed to the bench in 1991 by then-Gov. Booth Gardner. She was elected to the job in 1992 and 1996.

She has been hailed by supporters as an advocate of abused children. But she was castigated by critics for her behavior during several hearings and trials during the sex ring investigation.

During one hearing, tears welled in her eyes as she read the statement of a man who had confessed to abusing a child. During another trial, she was criticized for passing notes about the proceedings to a court clerk.

Twenty-eight people were accused of sexually abusing their own and other people’s children as part of the so-called sex rings in Chelan and Douglas counties.

The cases resulted in 14 guilty pleas and five convictions. Three defendants were acquitted, and charges were dismissed or greatly reduced against six others.