Prosecutors drop charges against Del. Ariana Kelly

Del. Ariana Kelly by MdFriendofHillary

Montgomery County prosecutors have decided to drop charges against Del. Ariana Kelly, a Bethesda Democrat who was arrested June 27 for trespass and indecent exposure at the home of her ex-husband, Barak Sanford.

Kelly and Sanford issued a joint statement:

“We thank the Montgomery County State’s Attorney for electing to discontinue the prosecution of the alleged charges relating to this incident. We also thank the Montgomery County Police Department for its judgment and common sense. Divorce is an emotional and unfortunate circumstance and we both regret our actions that contributed to a mutual misunderstanding. We are moving forward together to make this transition as easy as possible for our children. We request privacy during this time.”

Ramon Korionoff, spokesman for Democratic State’s Attorney John McCarthy, issued a statement:

“The incident involving the allegations against Ms. Ariana Kelly has been reviewed by this office, We have concluded this matter is better suited for family court.

“In many divorce situations, custody, control and transfer for visitation of children can result in very emotional confrontations. We determined this matter, after intense and thorough review, was just such an occurrence. We discussed this incident with Ms. Kelly’s former husband, he requested the charges be dropped. All parties are involved in on-going parental counseling through the family court.”

Sanford is an attorney who is a managing partner at Promontory Financial Group.

Kelly was reelected last year to her second term.