JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A grand jury completed an investigation of alleged improprieties in the office of Public Defender Matt Shirk and returned no indictment.
The grand jury did return a presentment, a written report of its findings.
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Special prosecutor State Attorney Bill Cervone handed the presentment in to Chief Judge Donald Moran on Tuesday. What is in the presentment has not yet been made public.
The investigation into Shirk began more than a year ago in response to allegations disclosed by the Florida Times-Union that Shirk engaged in improper conduct in the hiring and firing of three female employees, two of whom worked at a nightclub.
Two high-level staffers who quit the office accused Shirk of having "an unusual closeness" to the three females.
Several months after the newspaper stories, Shirk's wife, Michelle (pictured), filed for divorce, saying their 10-year marriage was "irretrievably broken." However, News4Jax has learned from court filings that she has since dismissed the divorce proceedings.
One of the fired employees has a pending sexual harassment lawsuit against Shirk. She accuses him of asking her to shower with him at the office, an invitation she says she rejected.
Shirk's attorney, Gene Nichols, outlined the proceedings for releasing the grand jury's findings.
"Typically a presentment is a statement that includes facts that they found and potentially recommendations," Nichols said. "Typically it is a document drafted by the grand jury, but does not include any criminal charges."
Nichols said Shirk will have no comment until the findings in the presentment are made public.
There's no date for when the report will be released, but News4Jax will bring it to you when it is.