Embattled Mississippi County Sheriff Cory Hutcheson has been indicted on 11 federal charges of identity theft while awaiting trial on related state charges.

Hutcheson, 34, of East Prairie, Missouri, appeared Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on bond, federal prosecutors said in a news release.

If convicted, Hutcheson faces a maximum punishment of five years� imprisonment on each count, and a maximum fine of $250,000, federal prosecutors said in the new release issued Tuesday.

The indictment charges Hutcheson with �illegally possessing and transferring the means of identification of others, in this case mobile telephone numbers, without lawful authority, and in connection with the commission of the state felony crime of forgery,� according to the news release.

�This office will prosecute people who violate federal law regardless of their positions,� U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen said.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Missouri State Highway Patrol, federal prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Scott Rosenblum told the Southeast Missourian, �We were aware of the investigation.� He made no other comment about the latest charges against his client.

Hutcheson already faces numerous felony and misdemeanor charges in Mississippi County Circuit Court in Charleston, Missouri. That case is still scheduled for trial in early April, Rosenblum said.

Hutcheson faces seven felony counts of forgery, seven misdemeanor counts of tampering with computer data and a misdemeanor count of notary misconduct over allegations he illegally �pinged� the cellphones of a judge and five state troopers in violation of state law.

He also faces a first-degree robbery charge in connection with forcibly retrieving a paycheck for his sister-in-law from a beauty shop where she previously worked.

Hutcheson said during a court appearance in July he was unaware he could not notarize his own signature on law-enforcement documents in order to use a computer program in the sheriff�s department to ping cellphones to determine the locations of a judge and state troopers.

A judge issued an order in May barring Hutcheson from serving as sheriff while the legal proceedings continue. The Missouri Attorney�s General Office sought to oust Hutcheson from office even as the criminal case continued in state court.

The Mississippi County Commission in June named chief deputy Branden Caid as acting sheriff.

A federal grand jury returned the indictment against Hutcheson on March 15, according to court records. U.S. Magistrate Judge Abbie Crites-Leoni ordered the indictment sealed the same day.

Online federal court records show a redacted indictment, which alleges Hutcheson sought personal mobile telephone numbers of 11 people �with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet� unlawful activity in violation of state and federal law. The names of the people were listed only by their initials.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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