The St. Joseph County Probate Court says a magistrate has quit after admitting he had an affair with a deputy prosecutor who appeared before him to pursue delinquent child support.
Aric Rutkowski had been a magistrate at the Juvenile Justice Center for at least a decade but his admitted affair with a deputy prosecuting attorney, over an 18-month span from 2021 to 2022, has called more than 862 cases into question.
Andrea Halpin, attorney for the probate court, says Rutkowski recently admitted the affair, which violates state ethics rules, and he quit May 29. Rutkowski handled child support enforcement cases, meaning he had an affair with the deputy prosecuting attorney who is representing the state on behalf of custodial parents trying to collect delinquent support.
“It’s a very serious situation because of the relationship," Halpin says. "It’s a conflict of interest and that is what the fear is, is that when the judge has a conflict of interest, that they won’t be impartial.”
Halpin says Probate Judge Loris Zappia issued a press release Monday and has notified affected parents through the legal system.
“We just want to encourage people to get advice from an attorney. You know, I feel like they should seek legal answers and find out if there’s something they should do.”
