A federal lawsuit claims that, in exchange for obstructing investigations of multiple sexual assaults, several police officers took thousands of dollars from building contractor Sean Williams, in Johnson City, Tennessee, the Associated Press reports. Williams is now in custody on state and federal criminal charges. The lawsuit alleges that Williams drugged and raped women in the East Tennessee community from 2018 to 2021 while police did little to investigate him. There was “either an implied or explicit agreement” that the officers would shield Williams, “permitting him to continue his criminal activities of abuse and trafficking with impunity,” say lawyers for nine women, listed as Jane Does 1-9, who are suing the city.
The same lawyers also revealed, in April, that they have provided hundreds of pages of information for a federal public corruption investigation of the police department. Williams awaits trial on state charges including child rape, aggravated sexual battery and especially aggravated sexual exploitation, and federal charges, including three counts of production of child sexual abuse material and one count of distribution of cocaine. Erick Herrin, an attorney for the city and multiple officers who were sued, said all the defendants deny the allegations.