Former Prosecutor Sues County

The former No. 2 official at the district attorney’s office filed a lawsuit against the county on Tuesday, alleging that he was demoted as retaliation after his wife refused to drop her sexual discrimination suit against the office.

Devallis Rutledge alleges that he was “pressured” by Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas to have his wife dismiss her lawsuit, according to the suit.

Rackauckas strongly rejected the allegations.

“This is a malicious, nasty attempt to harm me because Mr. Rutledge is bitter,” Rackauckas said in a statement. “The suit is without merit and the accusations in it are absolutely false and mean-spirited.”

Victoria Chen, a fellow prosecutor and Rutledge’s wife, lost a gender and race discrimination lawsuit in February. Rutledge, who had been temporarily stripped of his managerial duties while the trial was pending, was demoted to senior trial attorney following the verdict. A week later, he resigned.