CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — A woman is accusing Charleston Police Chief "Tyke" Hunt of using his influence to promote an FBI investigation involving allegations of online harassment.

The chief himself is now explaining why an online relationship with that woman resulted in him receiving an unpaid three-day suspension.

Jenny Harless said a Linked In hookup and ensuing online conversations with Charleston Police Chief "Tyke" Hunt led to an in-person meeting in Hunt's office in the spring of last year.

"We had discussed just small talk," Harless said. "I had mentioned to him that I was doing some things at my house, some home projects. And he mentioned he was a contractor, a licensed contractor. And at some point he offered to help me, somebody he just met online, but he said he was a nice guy like that."

Text messages provided by Harless outline a growing flirtatious relationship between her and the married chief of police. They exchanged explicit photographs and conversations. She said it culminated when Hunt invited her to visit his third floor office.

"He sat down in his office chair behind his desk," Harless said. "He grabbed my wrist with his arm and just pulled me over to him where I was facing him and he had me to sit down. Then, I got up within a minute and then took a seat in the original chair I was going to sit in. He proceeded to remove his clothing, everything but a tank top that he had on. He walked in front of me in front of the chair, the row of chairs I was sitting in, and he laid down on his back and he grabbed my wrist again and pulled me on top of him again."

Eyewitness News asked, "On the floor?"

Harless replied "Yes."

Eyewitness News asked, "And then what happened?"

"I sat there for a moment," Harless said. "I told him again, 'I told you before I came nothing was going to happen' and he said 'okay.'"

Harless said following their office encounter, further communication with Hunt was limited and eventually ended. Angered by his action, she said she contacted his wife.

"It hurt my feelings because I didn't understand what I had done," she said. "You know, I'm a human, it just hurt my feelings. I'm also ADHD. So, ADHD people tend to react before they think."

Following their online conversation, Harless said an FBI agent and member of the West Virginia State Police visited both her workplace and her home.

On her RING video the FBI agent said, "You're not in any trouble or anything like that. I don't even have handcuffs on me or anything."

Harless wasn't arrested or charged with online harassment of Hunt's wife, but said she thinks the chief improperly used his connections to intimidate her.

"I just feel like it's not okay to accuse someone of something they didn't do," she said.

She messaged Charleston's mayor with her accusation, eventually meeting with the city's human resources department and attorney, but she said he was never told the results of her complaint.

"I believe it was still swept under the rug and HR was used because it was election year," Harless said. "It was just a month or two before election and I don't feel like anyone looked into anything."

At this week's city council meeting, Democrat Shannon Snodgrass called for an independent investigation by an outside agency.

After her remarks, Snodgrass told Eyewitness News, "You cannot afford to lose the trust of the public when one of the main things we're in charge of is public safety."

In the wake of Snodgrass' speech, Charleston City Attorney Kevin Baker released a memo to council members where he went through Harless' complaint and resulting investigation. Hunt contacted Eyewitness News and said he wanted to share a statement about what happened.

"I apologize for the hurt that my actions have caused to my family, my friends and colleagues and the citizens of Charleston," Hunt said. "And that I made a mistake and I'll own my actions. That I fully cooperated with the investigation as conducted by the human resources of the city of Charleston. And through that investigation I agreed that I misused city property for a personal matter. And through that I received a discipline of three days unpaid suspension back in June of last year. And that this was a lapse in personal judgment and I realize that I've got to work harder now more than ever to rebuild trust. And I'm very appreciative of Mayor Goodwin continuing to have faith in me to lead the Charleston Police Department."

Harless said Hunt's abuse of his authority and the city's efforts to sweep her complaints under the rug should be looked at by an outside agency.

"I have no faith in law enforcement now," she said. "If I need law enforcement I don't know if I can trust them. I would like a thorough investigation. I would like it to be made public. And I would like anyone involved that has done any wrongdoing to be held accountable."

Eyewitness News reached out to Mayor Goodwin for a comment about the unfolding events. She declined our request.

Here is the complete memo from Charleston City Attorney Kevin Baker to Charleston City Council members:

"At the City Council meeting on Monday, complaints made by Jennifer Harless against Chief of Police James A. "Tyke" Hunt were raised by a member of City Council along with a request for an independent investigation into thematter. Please accept this memorandum clarifying the steps the City took in 2022 as part of our investigation when Ms. Harless made her complaint.

The City of Charleston received a complaint by Ms. Harless to a general City email account after hours on Friday, April 29, 2022. Ms. Harless alleged that Chief Hunt used his official position as Charleston Chief of Police to initiate an FBI investigation into Ms. Harless. Due to this allegation, the complaint was initially referred to my office. In response to the allegation, I spoke with Chief Hunt and he confirmed that his wife made an allegation of harassment against Ms. Harless to the FBI. I spoke with Ms. Harless by phone and Ms. Harless asserted Mrs. Hunt made a false complaint against her to the FBI and that she was investigated by the FBI only because Mrs. Hunt is married to the Chief of Police of Charleston. Ms. Harless also stated that she initiated a separate complaint to the FBI against Chief Hunt and Mrs. Hunt.

On Friday, May 6, 2022, I spoke with the FBI and the FBI confirmed that all complaints they receive are investigated in the same manner regardless of who makes the complaint, each of which are reviewed by the FBI and investigatedaccording to FBI policy. Based on my conversation with the FBI, I was comfortable that Chief Hunt did not receive special treatment when Mrs. Hunt contacted the FBI about the alleged harassment. It is my understanding that the FBI investigated the allegations by both Mrs. Hunt and Ms. Harless to their conclusions and there were no violations of law found.

During my initial conversation with Ms. Harless, she described a background of a consensual relationship that led tothe FBI complaints and her description included allegations that I believed constituted a violation of City policy. Upon hearing Ms. Harless's assertions, the City initiated its own investigation into Chief Hunt's conduct. Because the positionof Chief of Police is an appointed Department Head position and is nota uniformed civil service position, the City's Human Resources Director and I interviewed Chief Hunt and Ms. Harless again and we completed the City's investigation in June of 2022. The investigation was performed in the same manner the City investigates all human resources complaints. At the conclusion of the investigation, the findings were presented to the Mayor for her actions.

It is City policy not to discuss thecontent in human resources matters in order to protect the privacy of both members of the public and any employees involved. That level of confidentiality encourages people to come forward with concerns because they know the circumstances will not be made public by the City and will be addressed appropriately. I am hopeful this situation further reinforces that policy and does not have any detrimental impact on future complainants coming forward. Of course, it is always an option for the employee to publicly comment on the city's personnel related investigations and outcomes. Should you have any questions regarding this or other Human Resources policies and procedures, please do not hesitate to contact me directly."

Here is the complete statement made by Charleston Police Chief James "Tyke" Hunt to Charleston City Council members:

"I am truly sorry for the hurt that my actions have caused my family, my colleagues and the citizens of Charleston. I made a mistake and own my actions. I fully cooperated with the City's Human Resources investigation. Through that investigation I agreed that I misused city property for a personal matter and was disciplined with a three-day, unpaid suspension back in June of last year. This was a lapse in personal judgement, and I know I must work harder than ever to rebuild trust. I appreciate the faith that Mayor Goodwin has in me to continue to lead the Charleston Police Department. I have spent my entire career serving the citizens of Charleston and it is an honor to serve as Chief. My dedication and commitment to our City has not waned for one second over the last year and I will continue working hard to repair personal and professional relationships."

Here is the complete statement by Charleston City Council Member Shannon Snodgrass, reacting to the information provided to council members by Charleston City Attorney Kevin Baker and Charleston Police Chief "Tyke" Hunt:

“The statement from The City of Charleston’s City Attorney Kevin Baker (not the Mayor), and the apology from Chief Hunt further support my demand for an outside investigation, which should have happened from day one.

"The City’s statement contains what can only be described as sleight of hand. The City claims it had to refer this matter to a secretive HR review during an election year since Chief Hunt is appointed. Knowing that most in the public (and many on our City Council) don’t realize this - as a certified police officer Chief Hunt is still subject to a professional standards review beyond a secret HR investigation.

"All other police officers would have had to answer to our existing Professional Standards Board, which is headed by Chief Hunt. Since Chief Hunt cannot investigate himself his matter should have been sent to an outside entity. The City’s HR department has no authority, by example, over Chief Hunt’s civil service rank or certification.

"Our Chief should be held to a higher standard than his rank and file officers, not a lower one. Some of those officers have been fired for the same or arguably less. How can those who remain have confidence in a system that treats them one way but their Chief another?

"The rest of the City’s response raises more question than it answers. Self-serving, uncorroborated claims about the FBI’s unwarranted and frankly shocking involvement deserve full public scrutiny. We have never gotten that.

"Has a chief of police ever been suspended? That in of itself is a permanent black eye on our department. More importantly, this misconduct would surely have gotten a patrol officer fired.

I apologize to our officers who face more difficult policing standards than ever, who are damned if they do and damned if they don’t and who now must abide by rules their own Chief doesn’t have to follow. Our officers in blue deserve better. The public deserves a full outside investigation, not one carried out in secret behind closed doors.”