After a sex scandal leads to the judge’s resignation, Alaska prosecutors ask to vacate a conviction. Alaska Beacon

Federal prosecutors I asked a judge to overturn a man’s assault conviction, citing an improper relationship between a judge and a prosecutor.

The request, filed Tuesday, is the latest fallout from a sexual misconduct scandal that led to the resignation of Judge Joshua Kindredone of the judges of the U.S. District Courts in Alaska earlier this year.

Officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage have identified the suspect at least 44 cases in which Kindred may have had personal conflicts.

Defense attorneys have asked for their clients’ sentences to be overturned in some of these cases, and so did at least one of those cases has already been awardedbut Tuesday’s request marked the first time prosecutors themselves asked to overturn a conviction.

The case concerns Johnny-Lee Preston Burk, a man nicknamed ‘Felon’ in part due to his long history of drug dealing and interactions with police.

In 2019, federal prosecutors accused Burk of assaulting two federal officials. He was partially prosecuted and convicted by Karen Vandergaw.

Court documents reveal that Vandergaw was secretly dating Kindred, who oversaw Burk’s case. The relationship was revealed in a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals investigation into Kindred’s activities, but Vandergaw was not specifically mentioned until Tuesday.

“To the government’s knowledge, neither Vandergaw nor Judge Kindred disclosed the fact of their personal relationship with Burk or an attorney representing him, despite the relationship becoming personal before Burk pleaded guilty,” Tuesday’s filing said.

The filing also notes that a rumor source told government officials that Kindred and Vandergaw discussed Burk’s case, and that Kindred told the source that the two had “worked it out.”

“To the government’s knowledge, no such conversation was disclosed to Burk or any attorney representing him,” Tuesday’s documents said.

It concludes: “Accordingly, in the interests of justice and to safeguard the right of a criminal defendant to proceedings before a tribunal whose impartiality cannot reasonably be questioned, the Government directs this Court to reconsider the conviction and conviction in this case.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not respond Wednesday to a question about whether similar actions will take place in other cases.