RICHMOND, Va (WVIR) -
(UPDATE) - The state delegate who resigned Thursday amid a sex scandal, only to announce that he was going to run for his own seat again, was arrested the same day for violating the terms of his work release.
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The Henrico Sheriff's Office says Joseph D. Morrissey never notified his supervisors of his intent to campaign in front of a supermarket in Henrico.
Morrissey is now forced to remain in jail until he is brought before a judge for an institutional hearing.
Last Friday, he entered an Alford plea on charges of an inappropriate sexual relationship with his receptionist, who was 17 years old at the time.
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A central Virginia lawmaker accused of having a sexually inappropriate relationship with a teenage girl resigned from the House of Delegates Thursday. Delegate Joseph D. Morrissey of the 74th District then stunned the political world when he announced he's running for his own seat once again.
Del. Morrissey is asking voters to give him another chance.
"I have never claimed to be a perfect individual, and I'm not. It's a work in progress," he said.
There have been calls for Morrissey to step down since he entered an Alford plea last Friday, Dec. 12, on a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. In an Alford plea, a defendant acknowledges there is sufficient evidence for a conviction but doesn't admit guilt.
Prosecutors say 57-year-old Morrissey and a 17-year-old girl who worked for him had sex multiple times at his law office in August 2013.
On Thursday, Morrissey puzzled the press by saying he will seek the Democratic nomination in a January special election, one day before the political session is set to begin.
"Let's let the voters decide, and I am looking forward to their verdict," Morrissey said.
The speaker of Virginia's House called this move "deceitful, selfish and disrespectful."
Morrissey's own caucus has condemned him, but no law exists to keep him from running or from holding office.
Even if Morrissey wins back his seat, the delegates could expel him with a two-thirds majority vote. A situation like this has not happened since 1876.
"We'll have to stay tuned to see who will be sitting in that seat when we gavel in the session," said Virginia House of Delegates Clerk G. Paul Nardo.
With the holidays around the corner, and a deadline ahead of Christmas for nominations, there's uncertainty of what happens next: If Morrissey wins, he would serve in the legislature by day and report to jail by night.
"We're all partly saints and sinners, so there are things that would have been done differently. But that is in the past, I have to look forward," Morrissey said.
Prosecutors now say that the girl involved is pregnant. When asked by the media if that child belongs to him, Morrissey would not comment.
Morrissey originally faced charges of possessing child porn and taking indecent liberties with a minor. He was sentenced in a Henrico court to six months of active jail time, but under the ruling, he has a work release arrangement.