The new St. Tammany Parish Coroner today addressed the media for the first time since reports surfaced that he was charged with child sexual assault years ago.
Dr. Christopher Tape says he will not resign over the molestation charges.
"I maintain my innocence. That was 23-years-ago those accusations were made. That's all I need to say about."
He insisted people are innocent until proven guilty.
A New Mexico Judge ordered the child sexual assault charges against Tape dropped because prosecutors took too long to bring the case to trial.
His critics say that means he was never found not-guilty either.
Hours after taking office he said he fears he is being spied on, accusing the former coroner of leaving surveillance devices in the office.
"We were worried that it had been bugged, and there were secret cameras," Tape told reporters.
He did not say if they found anything.
The new coroner did call the cops over a box in the office with biohazard labels.
What was inside?
"It was a body bag... it's a death threat. The only way to stop me is to kill me frankly, and I don't want to give any ideas," Tape insisted.
He also suggested to bomb squad found other things, but didn't say what.
When asked how he will fight the expected recall campaign, Tape said, "I'm not going to worry about that. That's up to the voters. I'm gonna keep focusing on the office. If I do what I think I can do and cut the budget by millions of dollars, then I think that will speak louder than any effort."
