Johnson County sheriff accused of abusing his office allowed to return to work
The Johnson County sheriff accused of abuse of office and perjury can return to work while his case is pending, though he is prohibited from any contact with his employees who are witnesses in his criminal case.
District Court Judge John Weeks granted Sheriff Adam King’s request to resume his law enforcement duties during a hearing Thursday. King pleaded not guilty to the four charges against him, according to Star-Telegram partner WFAA-TV.
A grand jury indicted King in August on two felony counts of retaliation against a witness and one misdemeanor count of abuse of office related to sexual harassment. The third-term sheriff is accused of repeatedly harassing his female subordinates and threatening his chief deputy to keep it quiet.
According to the allegations, King instructed a female employee to remove her sweater, which was covering a V-neck blouse. He told the employee that she would need to “disrobe” before he would sign any documents, which was a task required for her job. The sheriff also told her, “If you keep losing weight, you’re going to make me do some ungodly things to you,” according to the indictment.
On another occasion, when the same employee told King she planned to arrive at work at 6 a.m. the following day, King responded, “that’s early enough that you don’t have to wear any clothes,” the indictment states.
When the woman wore white slacks to work, the sheriff allegedly commented, “Back in my younger days, you wouldn’t want to know what I did to women wearing white pants.”
During a weekly all-female “teatime” hosted by the sheriff, he said, “Don’t tell people/your husbands sheriff puts his cream in your tea,” the indictment states.
As King has denied wrongdoing, he has found some support in the community. In September, about 200 residents gathered in Cleburne for a meeting on how to back the sheriff and contribute to his legal fees.
New charge against Johnson County sheriff
A fourth charge, aggravated perjury, was handed up from a grand jury on Wednesday. King perjured himself when he testified that he had not changed his accuser’s work schedule after learning she had reported the harassment, according to the latest indictment.
During testimony, King was asked whether the woman’s schedule had been changed to five eight-hour shifts a week instead of four 10-hour shifts. King said that Capt. Ben Arriola or Chief Deputy James Saulter were responsible for the change.
Arriola was appointed acting sheriff after King placed himself on administrative leave in August.
King is accused of threatening Saulter to stay quiet about the allegations from Anna Goodloe, a training coordinator for the Sheriff’s Office.
Arriola and Saulter’s testimonies to the grand jury, along with the testimonies of Johnson County Judge Christopher Boedeker and Chief Deputy Mark Reinhardt, “materially contradicted” King’s assertions, according to the indictment.
Weeks modified the conditions of King’s bond to allow him to return to work, according to WFAA. Under the new orders, King is allowed to return to the office three days a week between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. He cannot contact any of the seven named witnesses in the case.
If King must communicate with any of the seven witnesses about work matters, he must go through Capt. Arriola, WFAA reported.
King also cannot access GPS or tracking tools, or conduct background checks on county employees, according to WFAA.
This story was originally published October 2, 2025 at 4:26 PM.
