Johnson City, Tenn., agreed to pay $28 million to settle a federal lawsuit that said police deliberately botched investigations into a suspect accused in civil cases of drugging and sexually assaulting dozens of women. If a judge approves, the settlement would resolve a case filed by women under “Jane Doe” pseudonyms against the city and individual police officers over sexual assault allegations against Sean Williams from 2018 to 2021. The city and officers have denied corruption allegations. “Johnson City does not blame these victims whatsoever,” said Commissioner Jenny Brock. “It was Sean Williams that is to blame for all of this.” Williams is in prison for producing images of child sexual abuse and breaking out of an inmate transfer van. He has not been criminally charged as a result of the women’s allegations, the Associated Press reports.
The lawsuit includes a settlement class of up to 400 women who lodged reports of sexual abuse or trafficking to Johnson City Police from 2018 through December 2022. The women in the case have been able to gain some closure and can begin healing, said Vanessa Baehr-Jones, their attorney. “It has been a painful journey for these women; it has been a hard journey; and it has ultimately led to a successful and empowering end,” Baehr-Jones said. The lawsuit is one of three that accuse the Johnson City Police Department of refusing to properly investigate evidence that Williams was drugging and raping women in their east Tennessee community for years.
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