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Victimless Crime Controversy

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. -- The Democratic candidate for District Attorney in Buncombe County is apologizing after he says a comment he made about victimless crimes was misinterpreted. During a candidate debate last week, Todd Williams was asking his opponent Ben Scales a question, but before he got to the question, he called statutory rape, DWI and unregistered sex offenders victimless crimes. Williams says he now regrets this statement. This description of victimless crimes is outraging crime victims. Kyra Arias was seriously hurt in a 2011 crash caused by a drunk driver. "As a person who is the victim of a DUI accident, that hurts because that makes me feel like if I'm not a victim, what am I?" Arias asked. Scales, who the question was directed to, was also stunned. "As a father of a middle school daughter, I take statutory rape very seriously, and I certainly think there's a victim there," Scales said. Williams was unavailable to speak with News 13 on camera, but said the following in a written statement: "I was asking a gotcha question and the gotcha got me." He also posted on his Facebook: "There are no victimless crimes. North Carolina statutes exist to protect us. It is the role of the district attorney to uphold the laws of the state of North Carolina. I will uphold all our laws as your district attorney." Williams called it a gotcha question because Scales often refers to marijuana cases as victimless. Williams asked how he would prioritize or define victimless. "I think it was designed to try to trip me up on my stance on cannabis," Scales said. "Possession of a personal use amount by an otherwise law-abiding adult in private, that's what I'm talking about as victimless." Williams said by phone he regrets the comments and apologizes for any misunderstanding. by Frank Fraboni _______________ Follow WLOS on social media: WLOS ABC 13 News on Facebook:   / news13   WLOS ABC 13 News on Twitter:   / wlos_13   WLOS ABC 13 News on Instagram:   / wlos_13   Subscribe to WLOS on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ABC13Cha... Listen to AnchorMOMS, the Podcast: https://wlos.com/news/anchormoms/anch... Watch more top local news stories:    • Western Loses At ETSU, Highlights and more   For all of the day’s top local and national news, visit http://www.wlos.com Watch our live newscasts and other live video at https://wlos.com/watch Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: 828.684.1340 WLOS ABC 13 News serves the Asheville, NC area and the rest of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. We keep our audience informed through local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of community events, sports and entertainment programming since 1954.