Marshal assigned to judge who oversees child neglect, abuse cases

Embattled Family Court Lt. Steve Rushfield is going to work as a courtroom marshal for Family Court Judge Frank Sullivan.

Rushfield this week voluntarily stepped down from his supervisory position amid allegations of abuse and misconduct detailed in a Review-Journal story this month.

He is to report to Sullivan, who handles juvenile abuse and neglect cases, on April 8, according to court officials.

Sullivan, first elected to the bench in 2008, is among the 20 Family Court judges who deal with a variety of emotional domestic issues, including divorces and child custody and abuse cases.

He is one of three judges who handle juvenile cases in the absence of suspended Family Court Judge Steven Jones, who was indicted by a federal grand jury last year in what authorities allege was a $3 million investment-fraud scheme.

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline has filed an unrelated complaint against Jones stemming from a romantic relationship he had with a prosecutor who appeared before him.

To pave the way for Rushfield’s employment with Sullivan, the marshal currently assigned to the judge, Michael Gutierrez, is being transferred to the regular pool of marshals who do other security tasks, including manning the metal detectors outside Family Court.

Mary Ann Price, the spokeswoman for Clark County District Court, which oversees Family Court, said Sullivan was asked to take on Rushfield, but late Wednesday she indicated she didn’t know who had made the request.

For Rushfield, who leaves behind a trail of misconduct allegations over a period of years, moving to Sullivan’s court means he no longer falls under the authority of the court administration, according to state law.

Nevada Revised Statute 3.310 says a marshal working for a judge “serves at the pleasure of the judge.”

It was not clear whether court administration can still discipline Rushfield for any past actions.

Rushfield, a veteran of 24 years of public service, has declined to comment on his decision to step aside from his supervisory duties. Court administrators have said they are prohibited from commenting because it is a personnel matter.

Rushfield is suspected of participating in a cover-up of assault allegations against another marshal and was the subject of an internal investigation into allegations he choked a 23-year-old woman restrained in a chair in a holding cell.

The other marshal, Ron Fox, was fired after a hearing master upheld allegations he groped Monica Contreras, 28, who was in Family Court on Aug. 8, 2011, for a brief hearing related to her divorce.

In a courtroom incident captured on videotape, Contreras complained to Hearing Master Patricia Doninger that Fox assaulted her in a nearby witness room under the guise of searching for drugs.

Court officials investigated Rushfield in connection with an incident on May 20, 2010, in which he is alleged to have choked Crystal Williams in a restraining chair.

Williams was at a Family Court hearing to support a friend. After a confrontation with marshals outside the courtroom about her use of a cellphone, she was taken to a holding cell and strapped into the chair.

According to one of the four marshals in the room, Williams was combative and constantly screaming. The marshal, who asked not to be named in fear of retribution, said Rushfield grabbed her by the throat with one hand, shoved her head back and said, “You’re in my house, bitch. Shut the f--- up.”

Police were asked to investigate the incident, but in early 2011, detectives with the Criminal Intelligence Section of the Metropolitan Police Department decided the matter was best left for administrative action by the court.

Since then, there has been no word of any disciplinary action taken against Rushfield.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Follow @JGermanRJ on Twitter.