WILLIAMSON COUNTY, IL — Soon-to-be former Williamson County Circuit Clerk Justin Maze took to Facebook over the weekend to apologize to county residents for not telling them the real reason he was resigning from the office the first of next month.

Early last week, Maze announced on his Facebook page that he would be stepping down as Circuit Clerk due to an upcoming one-year overseas military deployment and would not seek re-election. Then on Thursday, Department of Justice information showed Maze entered into a pretrial diversion program requiring him to resign and to not seek re-election to any public office.

The agreement was part of a case in which Steven Cook, the former president of SouthernTrust Bank in southern Illinois, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Thursday to falsifying bank records.

Maze released the following statement on Facebook; “I want to express my sincere apologies to the people of Williamson County. I betrayed your trust by not telling the full story. Recently, I entered into a pretrial diversion agreement that included my deployment that my counsel and I were led to believe would remain private. Part of this agreement is that no charges would be brought. As many of you know, I am set to deploy in the coming months. Counsel reviewed and approved my statement based on the belief that the diversion agreement would remain private. My intention was to protect my family’s reputation. I recognize and accept this was a lie by omission. I am responsible for my decision. I accept that I am held accountable and face the consequences of my actions from the public. I hope to regain your trust in the future.”