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An attorney for the Utah County Sheriff's Office has asked a judge to reverse the State Records Committee's decision to make public documents from the internal affairs investigation of a corrections officer who shared police records from a rape case with BYU's Honor Code office.

The appeal was filed Wednesday in 4th District Court by Deputy Utah County Attorney Cort Griffin, who asked Judge Kraig Powell to find that the documents were properly redacted and that the interests favoring restriction of access are greater than those favoring access.

The documents center around Deputy Edwin Randolph, who once was accused of retaliating against Brigham Young University student Madi Barney. She reported to police in 2015 that she was raped in her off-campus apartment. Nasiru Seidu, 40, was charged with first-degree felony rape in connection to Barney's allegations.

Both Randolph and Seidu were charged with witness retaliation, accused of providing the police report to BYU in order to have Barney expelled. The retaliation charge was dropped against Randolph days after it was filed, and a judge dismissed the same charge against Seidu after finding there was insufficient evidence for the case to move forward.

The school's Honor Code Office began investigating Barney after 47-year-old Randolph, an acquaintance of Seidu's, brought a police file detailing the rape investigation to the office. Barney was subsequently forbidden from enrolling in future classes unless she submitted to the school's investigation, which a prosecutor unsuccessfully asked the school to delay until the criminal rape case is resolved.

The Tribune requested documents detailing a subsequent internal affairs investigation into Randolph's actions. After receiving a heavily-redacted version of the report, The Tribune appealed to the State Records Committee, which last month ordered the unredacted records to be released. In their written findings, the committee found that even if the allegations against a police officer were unsustained — as they were in Randolph's case — public access outweighs restrictions because of the "need for the public to have confidence in the actions of police officers."

Griffin argued in the appeal that the interests favoring restriction include "the character, reputation and employment implications" of Randolph, along with employee morale and employee cooperation in internal affairs investigations. He also argued that Peace Officer Standards and Training is conducting its own investigation, and the redacted portions should not be released while that probe is ongoing. Releasing the documents could also create a danger of depriving Seidu of his right to a fair trial, Griffin argued, and could invade Barney's privacy.

Tribune attorney Michael O'Brien said Thursday that the state records committee relied on a "carefully-reasoned" court decision in making their conclusion that the public should have access to the records.

"It is unfortunate," he said, "that Utah County has chosen to appeal and continue the fight to keep such important records secret."

Seidu's witness retaliation charge was dismissed by a judge. But Randolph's charge was dismissed at the request of Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman, who has said he reviewed information gleaned from Randolph's internal affairs investigation before deciding that the criminal case should not move forward. Buhman said in April that not even his own prosecutor was allowed to know what facts in the internal affairs report led to the dismissal.

According to sheriff's office records, Randolph was disciplined for having improper contact with a former inmate — a violation that netted him a two-day suspension — but the witness tampering charge was unfounded.

The rape case against Seidu is scheduled to go to trial in late May.

The Tribune does not generally identify alleged victims of sexual assault, but Barney has agreed to be named.