Auburn mayor Nancy Backus claims she didn’t know details before writing letter for convicted child sex offender

Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus publicly addressed her controversial letter supporting a convicted child sex offender for the first time Monday night, claiming the document never reached the sentencing judge and characterizing media coverage as “political fodder.”

Speaking in a prepared statement at the end of a city council meeting, she referred to a KIRO Newsradio report published on Oct. 23. Without giving specifics, she said the report “has many irregularities, but I’m only going to address the portion that included me.”

Backus said she regretted drafting a 2022 letter asking for no jail time for Pastor Josh Headley, who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl from his church, where he served as a youth pastor.

“I truly regret drafting the declaration and have said so many times,” Backus said. “In 2024, I read a copy of the police report regarding the case, and I was disgusted.”

But her timeline raises significant questions. Backus claims she had “no knowledge of his actions” when she wrote the letter in October 2022 and didn’t read the police report until 2024. The Auburn mayor also claimed the letter never made it to court.

“The declaration is not part of the court case,” she said.

Auburn pastor disputes mayor’s timeline

Pastor LaShund Lambert contradicts Backus’ account of when she learned about the sex crime. In a message to KIRO Newsradio Tuesday, Lambert confirmed he contacted Mayor Backus in May 2022, five months before she wrote her October 2022 letter to the convicted man’s attorney.

“I contacted her the day I got the police report,” Lambert wrote. “Whatever date was on the Freedom of Information, she was notified. At that time, I had hoped she was unaware and truly did not want her caught off guard. I am realizing I was misguided.”

Records confirm Lambert received his public disclosure request, sometimes referred to as a “Freedom of Information Act” request, on May 26, 2022.

In an October interview with KIRO Newsradio, Lambert described the May 2022 phone conversation with Backus in detail, saying he told the Auburn mayor: “I’ve read the police report. It is horrible. It is sickening.”

Lambert said Backus assured him the city of Auburn wouldn’t be affiliated with the man when he became a convicted sex offender.

One month after Lambert’s warning, in June 2022, Headley pleaded guilty to rape of a child in the third degree in King County court. That same day, he emailed Mayor Backus asking for her personal email address. She provided it.

Four months later, Backus sent what she calls a “draft declaration” to Headley’s attorney, praising his work in the Auburn community and asking the judge to consider treatment rather than prison time.

In it, she wrote: “I do not take my comments and request lightly, as I am responsible for the safety of our city.”

Mayor cites “restorative justice” in explaining support

In her Monday night statement, Mayor Backus invoked the concept of restorative justice to explain why she wrote the letter supporting the convicted sex offender.

“I do believe in restorative justice,” Backus said. “And for me, restorative justice means that everyone involved in the crime is allowed to heal and grow.”

However, when KIRO Newsradio asked the King County Prosecutor’s Office in October whether any legal restorative justice process was used in this case, spokesperson Casey McNerthney responded, “No restorative justice on this one, that doesn’t typically happen on sex assault cases.”

Restorative justice practices in Washington typically involve bringing together victims, offenders, and community members in facilitated dialogue aimed at repair and healing. The approach is rarely, if ever, used in cases involving adults who sexually assault children, according to criminal justice experts.

Pastor Lambert told KIRO Newsradio in October that true restoration requires accountability for both the victim and community.

“A restoration requires restitution. You have to make it right,” Lambert said. “We can’t just restore the perpetrators. We must restore the community and the individuals.”

The victim, now in her mid-20s, wrote in her impact statement to the King County court, “This case has impacted me by showing me that abusers have more rights than the victims.”

Mayor Backus calls coverage ‘political fodder’

The Auburn mayor characterized media coverage as “political fodder” distributed by those supporting her opponents in the recent Auburn mayoral race.

“I remained silent during October and November because it was political, at least a portion of this was political,” Backus said, adding that Monday’s statement would be her “only public comment moving forward.”

Backus expressed sympathy for the victim, saying “my heart goes out to the survivor” and apologizing for any pain her actions caused.

Lambert said on Tuesday, “I feel no malice toward her, but the truth must be told. You must value children’s safety over politics.”

Backus won re-election last month, winning 54.7% of the vote.

Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here. 

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