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 s

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