HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Darian Ward, the former press secretary of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, was indicted by a grand jury on Thursday.
She was indicted for withholding emails and other information from February 2014 to October 2017.
She has been charged with failure or refusal of officer for public information.
She resigned as Press Secretary in January, reported Houston Public Media.
According to thousands of emails released in January, Ward used her city email account over the last four years to discuss a reality series she was pitching to television networks.
Ward described the program in emails as “the Apprentice meets Shark Tank in stilettos.”
Ward also interviewed six women who were set to be contestants on her program on a 2015 episode of “Press Pass to the City,” which is produced by the city’s television studio.
Thursday afternoon, Mary Benton, the current press secretary of Mayor Turner, sent the following statement:
“Mayor Turner expects every city of Houston employee to comply with the Texas Public Information Act. Questions about today’s grand jury decision should be directed to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. The mayor is currently on a trade mission in South America, where he is focused on promoting Houston, and growing business and cultural ties in Peru, Chile and Argentina.”
Ward could face a fine of $1,000 and up to 6 months in jail.