LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has reprimanded a western Nebraska attorney for a news release he sent to reporters on behalf of his client in a child death case.

The state’s Counsel for Discipline charged Bell Island, of Gering, with — among other things — knowingly making false statements.

The charges stemmed from a news release Island issued after his client refused to testify for the prosecution during the 2015 trial of her one-time boyfriend, Dustin Chauncey. Chauncey was charged with child abuse resulting in the 2008 death of 2-year-old Juliette Geurts, the daughter of Island’s client. Island’s release suggested that the prosecutor wanted his client to lie on the witness stand.

A referee found that Island had violated professional conduct rules by calling into question the prosecutor’s integrity and ethics.