Records obtained by The Hawk’s Eye show that Atascosa County officials documented concerns in 2025 about children and a non-employee being present inside the Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 office tied to Judge Russell “Rusty” Prasifka. In an April 29, 2026, email to The Hawk’s Eye, Atascosa County Attorney Molly Groesbeck Solis said the county did not have formal “complaints” matching the request, but did have written statements from county officials related to Prasifka’s conduct during the timeframe requested. Those records included statements from Commissioner Mark Gillespie and Constable John Rutherford describing what they said they saw in and around the Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 office on July 23, 2025.  

The records do not amount to a formal finding of wrongdoing on their own. What they do show is that two county officials reduced their concerns to writing and that the county later released those statements in response to a public-information request. The statements focus on allegations that Prasifka’s daughter and grandchildren were in the office during the workday and that similar situations had happened before.  

What Commissioner Gillespie said he observed

In a written statement dated July 28, 2025, Gillespie said he went to the JP4 office after receiving a text from Rutherford and found two children in the front office staff area along with an adult woman he did not recognize as a county employee. Gillespie wrote that Rutherford identified the woman as Judge Prasifka’s daughter and the children as her kids. He further stated that a staff member later left with one child and then returned with another young boy, bringing the total number of children in the office area to three. Gillespie also wrote that Prasifka and his chief clerk later returned to the office and joined the group in the same workspace.  

Gillespie said that after leaving the office, he called County Judge David Cude and told him what he had witnessed. According to Gillespie’s statement, Cude told him the matter needed to be reported to human resources by the person who observed it. Gillespie wrote that he then contacted the HR director and later went to the HR office to give details about his concerns, adding that county policy and the employee handbook needed to be enforced.  The records produced to The Hawk’s Eye, however, do not appear to include any documentation showing Human Resources opened a formal complaint, conducted an investigation, or issued a written outcome on the matter.  

Even so, the matter did not end with Gillespie’s report to Human Resources. It later went before Commissioners Court, where Judge Prasifka was issued a written reprimand during the August 11, 2025, meeting. The agenda indicates it was the same issue Gillespie said he reported, describing the item as a presentation by the Human Resources Department and County Attorney on “the complaint alleging violations of the County Personnel Handbook at JP4 building by employees and Justice of the Peace Rusty Prasifka.” That agenda language stands in tension with the county attorney’s later statement that the county had no formal complaints responsive to the records request.

What Constable Rutherford reported

Rutherford’s statement describes the same day from inside the office. He wrote that when he returned to his office around 1:30 p.m. on July 23, 2025, he looked at the cameras and saw Prasifka’s daughter sitting behind a clerk’s desk with her two children nearby. Rutherford said he then texted Gillespie and asked him to stop by, and later told him the children were Prasifka’s grandchildren. He also wrote that Prasifka’s daughter was frequently at the office for long periods and that there had been other occasions when the grandchildren were there for extended periods of time.  

Rutherford went further, alleging that on one prior occasion the children had been dropped off with Prasifka and picked up hours later. He also described another occasion in which he said one grandchild was left with the judge and that Prasifka later left the area with his chief clerk, leaving court clerks to watch the child. Rutherford wrote that Gillespie commented county policy prohibited children in the workplace and said the office appeared to be operating like a daycare.  

Comment sought from Prasifka

Before publication, The Hawk’s Eye contacted Prasifka on May 4, 2026, seeking comment on allegations that children were present in the Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4 office and that county policy barred children from the workplace. Prasifka was given an opportunity to respond before the story was published. In releasing records related to the matter, the county drew a distinction between formal complaints and written statements, saying it had no “complaints” responsive to the request but did have written statements from county officials concerning Prasifka’s conduct during the timeframe at issue.

Separate from prior judicial discipline

The newly obtained records add another layer of concern around Prasifka, but they are separate from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct matter previously reported by The Hawk’s Eye. In that earlier case, the commission publicly admonished Prasifka in April 2025 after concluding he made a sexually inappropriate joke to a female jail officer and that the conduct violated judicial-canons standards. The commission’s FY 2025 public sanctions list identifies Prasifka’s case as a public admonition issued April 17, 2025, and prior reporting by The Hawk’s Eye detailed the underlying jail incident.  

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