By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Beaufort County Treasurer Maria Walls has spoken out about the way that her lawsuit against former Beaufort County auditor James Beckert and Beaufort County concluded.
Walls sued Beckert in August 2020 alleging that he spent years “harassing, bullying, defaming and threatening Walls” and despite alerting the County Administrator, Deputy County Administrator, Beaufort County Council members, the County Attorney, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and the county’s Human Resources Department, nothing was done to rectify the situation.
In her trial that began Monday, Sept. 9, Walls said that she got the opportunity to say on the record what she had to go through, which made a difference to her.
“The toxic environment that I and other women had to endure never should have been tolerated,” Walls said. “I wish it hadn’t been necessary to pursue legal action in order to restore peace and common decency, but I am grateful to have had the opportunity to stand up for myself and to finally be able to move on from a decade of abuse and unthinkable behavior.”
The trial abruptly ended on Thursday, Sept. 12, when a settlement was reached.
Walls also has a second lawsuit that is currently pending against Beaufort County that alleges the county retaliated against her in her official capacity as Treasurer.
When reached for comment about the lawsuit Beaufort County spokesperson Hannah Nichols said that the two parties had come to an agreement about a settlement but did not comment further.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
