Based on the investigation report, the court found the accused attorney displayed a “pattern of predatory behavior” and “sheer depravity” in his conduct, not “merely exercises in poor judgment.” The court documentation further reported that Pearson “exploited three highly vulnerable clients, taking advantage not only of the power imbalance inherent in the attorney-client relationship, but also the specific weaknesses arising from the clients’ histories of drug use, sexual abuse, and other trauma.”

The cases of three clients were reviewed in the court’s judgment. The first was an 18-year-old client in 2016 who had a history of sexual abuse and substance use. The attorney was appointed to represent the second client, a married woman, in February 2018 in four criminal cases. She was also battling a substance use disorder and some of the charges she faced involved drug possession. Unlike the first two women, the third client cited in the case met, and began an intimate relationship with Pearson prior to the representation, the court documents report. In March 2017, the third woman, who also has a history of substance use and sexual abuse, was charged in an initial case with drug offenses, and later a second case. Pearson represented her in both.

According to the court’s report, all three women, while under representation by Pearson, were asked to meet with him after business hours at various locations and were served a dark liquid before the sexual relations took place. All three women also reported to feeling vulnerable due to their past histories and legal troubles.

In reaching its decision the court relied on the disciplinary commission's report and the Indiana Professional Conduct Rule for attorneys which “categorically forbids sexual relations between an attorney and a client unless an intimate relationship already existed prior to the representation. Beginning a sexual relationship with a client during the representation is inherently exploitative given the power imbalance between an attorney and his or her client.” Further the court observed that “even in situations where an intimate relationship predates the representation, an attorney who proceeds with the representation risks placing his or her own interests in conflict with the client’s interests.”

Pearson has not responded to media requests seeking comment.

A native of Plymouth, Pearson practiced law, including criminal defense and family law cases, in Winamac from an office on North Market Street. According to his office website, he received his bachelor's degree in business management from DePaul University in Chicago, and his master's in humanities at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He earned his law degree from Syracuse University, after which he returned to Indiana to practice law.