Superintendent candidate won’t be charged, but wife faces misdemeanor
Published at | Updated at
Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on March 8, 2022.
BOISE (IdahoEdNews.org) – Branden Durst, candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, will not be criminally charged for accusations made regarding child abuse allegations.
The Ada County Prosecutor’s Office did, however, charge Durst’s wife with misdemeanor injury to child after law enforcement routed them the report for consideration, according to prosecutor’s spokesperson Emily Lowe.
Cheri Durst, the wife of Branden Durst, was criminally charged on Feb. 22 in connection to the abuse alleged to have happened in Ada County. She entered a not guilty plea on March 1.
Idaho Reports called and emailed Branden Durst on Tuesday for comment but did not receive a response.
In the criminal complaint, prosecutors say on Dec. 24, 2021, Cheri Durst “did willfully cause or permit the person or health of the child to be injured” by striking the child with a wooden spoon.
The allegations initially became public when Durst’s ex-wife, Jaime Charles, said Cheri Durst struck a 14-year-old child. In the document filed in Thurston County Superior Court in Washington state, Charles said Branden Durst “not only watched and did nothing to stop it, but he actively encouraged his wife to beat (the child).”
On March 2, Thurston County, Washington, court commissioner Rebekah Zinn extended the temporary protection order in place against the Dursts through March 16.
The extended order said neither Cheri nor Branden Durst could initiate contact with the children.
Cheri Durst’s next court appearance is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. March 29 in Ada County.
Branden Durst is challenging incumbent Superintendent Sherri Ybarra for her seat in the May Republican primary. As of Tuesday, Durst, Ybarra and Debbie Critchfield filed for that race. The filing period is open through March 11.
The superintendent of public instruction oversees the education of Idaho public school students in kindergarten through 12th grade.