Crime

ABC 20/20 re-runs TV broadcast of Ex-Prosser mayor sex scandal

Interest in an old Prosser sex scandal is surging after a TV news magazine refreshed its 2013 take on the sordid case.

ABC’s 20/20 re-visited former Prosser Mayor Linda Lusk on Thursday on the OWN cable network.

Promotional materials included a photo, sympathetic questions and an update on Lusk’s life.

She is divorced from her husband, Prosser High Principal Kevin Lusk, and left Prosser and married a man she met as a result of the original 2013 broadcast. She and her new husband, Adam, recently bought a home in Port Orchard.

The promised TV segment caused a spike in online traffic to old Tri-City Herald stories about the case.

Ex-Mayor Linda Lusk has left Prosser and married a man she met as a result of a 20/20 broadcast in 2013 about her case. She and her new husband, Adam, now live in Port Orchard.
Ex-Mayor Linda Lusk has left Prosser and married a man she met as a result of a 20/20 broadcast in 2013 about her case. She and her new husband, Adam, now live in Port Orchard.

Lusk, then 49, pleaded guilty in 2011 to felony child molestation. The charges involved sexual contact with her teenaged daughter’s ex-boyfriend, then 14.

She was sentenced to 90 days in jail, community service and therapy. She also has to register as a Level 1 sex offender for 10 years.

As a result of the sex offender designation, the Prosser School District issued a formal no-trespass order barring her from its campuses without permission from the school superintendent. Lusk’s children attended Prosser schools at the time.

In 2014, she sought permission to attend her daughter’s high school graduation. When it was denied, she unsuccessfully sued in Benton County Superior Court, drawing more attention to the case.

Her Wikipedia page includes an unsupported report of a possible book deal.

Former Prosser Mayor Linda Lusk was sentenced in 2011 for molesting a teen boy.
Former Prosser Mayor Linda Lusk was sentenced in 2011 for molesting a teen boy. Kai-Huei Yau/Herald

This story was originally published May 30, 2019 at 5:37 PM.

WC
Wendy Culverwell
Tri-City Herald
Wendy Culverwell writes about local government and politics, focusing on how those decisions affect your life. She also covers key business and economic development changes that shape our community. Her restaurant column and health inspection reports are reader favorites. She’s been a news reporter in Washington and Oregon for 25 years.
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