KENNEWICK, Wash. — Former Prosser Mayor Linda Lusk pleaded not guilty Thursday in a Benton County court to a charge of child molestation.

KNDU-TV reports she was released without bail. Her next court appearance is set for July 15.

Prosecutors say she had sexual contact with a 14-year-old boy on April 28 at her house.

The 49-year-old Lusk served one term as Prosser’s mayor and lost a re-election bid in 2007.

“Linda has a story to tell and I think it’s pretty compelling story to tell and someday her version will be told. Now’s not the time, but the truth of what happened will come out,” said her attorney Scott Johnson.

The former Prosser mayor is facing a felony charge of child molestation in the third degree. She’s accused of having sexual relations with a 14-year-old boy and sending him dozens of inappropriate texts.

But her attorney said Lusk was pleading not guilty because there’s more to the story. Johnson wouldn’t go into details because the investigation is still on-going.

“There’s a lot of rumor and innuendo but I can tell you 99 percent of that is just untrue. Once all the investigation is done and once Linda gets a chance to tell her side, the actual truth will come out,” said Johnson.

Lusk was brought in last Thursday to talk with police and prosecutors. She has not been arrested. The prosecutor tells us it’s because she’s not a flight risk.

from www.theweeklyvice.com – Linda Lusk, a 49-year-old high school Principal’s wife and former Prosser Mayor, has been charged after she allegedly had sexual contact with a 14-year-old boy.

According to the Prosser Police Department, Lusk performed a sexual act on the boy in late April during his lunch break from school.

Investigators say Lusk took the boy to her daughter’s bedroom where she proceeded to touch the boy’s penis and asked him to touch her breasts.

The alleged relationship began with the two sending explicit text messages to each other including a text where Lusk reportedly sent the boy a partially nude photograph of herself.

Lusk and her husband, a Prosser High School principal where the victim attends school, asked to meet with the parents of the victim on June 2 to tell them about the relationship. During the conversation, Lusk told the boy’s mother she had texted the victim and “that it had become inappropriate.”

Authorities had already received information about an alleged inappropriate relationship, because rumors had apparently circulated around the school.

When the parents questioned their son, he told them the rumors were true and that he and Lusk had sexual contact.

The Benton County Sheriff’s office took over the investigation on June 3 to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest from Lusk’s past position as mayor.

Lusk was not arrested or jailed but faces a charge of third-degree child molestation.

Lusk served one term as Prosser’s mayor, but was defeated during her re-election bid in 2007. A mother of four kids and two stepchildren, Lusk now owns a handbag boutique in Prosser called “Get a Grip.”