A federal lawsuit has been filed in Tennessee, alleging that police officers in Johnson City took thousands of dollars from a businessman in exchange for obstructing investigations into allegations of sexual assault against multiple women. The police department has denied any wrongdoing. The lawsuit accuses contractor Sean Williams of drugging and raping women in the community from 2018 to 2021 while police allegedly did little to investigate him. The lawsuit claims there was an agreement between Williams and the officers to shield him from investigation.
The lawsuit was filed by nine women, referred to as Jane Does 1-9, who are suing the city. The plaintiffs allege that bank documents support their claims of extortion, with Williams’ business partner opening shell companies to transfer money to the officers. The money was reportedly laundered to pay the officers $2,000 a week, as well as seize cash from Williams’ safe. The plaintiffs point to bank records that show withdrawals of large sums of cash from the company’s account, and mention messages from Williams in which he describes the extortion scheme.
Despite the allegations, the attorney for the city and the officers being sued deny the claims. The city has stated that there is no evidence to support allegations of corruption within the police department and has welcomed any investigation to dispel such claims. The local district attorney, who is prosecuting Williams on state charges, declined to comment on the extortion accusations, citing an ongoing investigation. The lawsuits also claim that Williams’ criminal activities continued even after a victim survived a fall from the window of his apartment, revealing evidence of sexual assaults within his residence.
Further allegations in the lawsuits state that Williams had been dealing drugs and was accused of sexually assaulting and raping multiple women, with police failing to properly investigate. Williams was eventually arrested in April 2023 after being found in North Carolina with drugs, cash, and digital storage devices containing images of child sexual abuse and videos of female victims being assaulted by Williams. An outside investigation into the police department’s handling of sexual assault cases revealed inconsistent, ineffective investigations, inadequate record management, insufficient training on policies, and issues with gender-based bias. The city has since taken steps to improve the department’s performance and address the findings of the audit.
