Tennessee
Tennessee officers accused of shielding a man committing sex crimes. Police deny extortion
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal lawsuit claims police officers took thousands of dollars from a businessman in their Tennessee city in exchange for obstructing efforts to investigate allegations that he was sexually assaulting multiple women for years. The police department has denied any wrongdoing.
The extortion claim involving several Johnson City Police officers appears in court filings from a federal lawsuit accusing building contractor Sean Williams — who is now in custody on state and federal criminal charges — of drugging and raping 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.
These plaintiffs raised the extortion claims months ago, but their May 14 filing makes the claims more explicit by alleging that banking documents back the assertions. 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. He’s also charged with escape, after authorities said he kicked the window out of a federal transport van and was caught in Florida more than a month later.
The law firm representing Williams did not immediately respond to a request for comment emailed by The Associated Press.
Erick Herrin, an attorney for the city and multiple officers who were sued, said all the defendants deny the allegations, but court rules limit what else he can say. In a statement, the city said it would welcome an investigation.
“There has been no evidence presented to support allegations of corruption by the Johnson City Police Department, and we welcome any investigation that could dispel such claims,” the city said.
The May 14 filing claims Williams’ business partner, referred to as Female 4, opened shell companies disguised as subcontractors and transferred thousands of dollars from Williams’ business, Glass and Concrete Contracting LLC. The money was laundered so she could take “owner draws” to pay $2,000 a week to some Johnson City Police officers, who had also seized cash from Williams’ safe, the document alleges.
The plaintiffs point to bank records, saying that for instance, during a two-week period in June 2022, Female 4 withdrew nearly $30,000 in cash from the company’s account. They say the woman appears to have withdrawn no more than $10,000 per day, “likely in an effort to evade mandatory suspicious activity.”
In a filing in March, the plaintiffs said Williams himself described the extortion in a message from jail in September 2023. They say he used a contraband cellphone to send the messages to a coconspirator who then posted them on Facebook. One mentioned weekly payments of $2,000 to officers using fraudulent 1099 tax documents and “forged owner draws.”
In a court filing in response, Female 4’s attorney said her communications with Williams have been infrequent since their personal relationship ended in 2017. The filing says the Facebook post was made by “someone using the name of Sean Williams” and says she has no relevant knowledge about the allegations and doesn’t have any relevant documents.
The attorney for Female 4 did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The local district attorney, who is prosecuting Tennessee’s charges against Williams, declined to comment on the extortion accusations, citing an ongoing investigation, and didn’t specify whether or not they’re looking into extortion claims.
The lawsuits say Williams’ crimes continued even after Jane Doe 1 survived a fall from the window of his fifth story apartment in September 2020. Officers investigating the fall found ample evidence of sexual assaults in his apartment, including a list of names labeled “Raped.” Even when that woman went public, Williams’ identity was protected as “Robert Voe.”
Kateri Lynne Dahl, a former special prosecutor in the East Tennessee U.S. attorney’s office, was brought in as a liaison with city authorities. She also filed a federal lawsuit against the city. She says she gathered substantial evidence that Williams had been dealing drugs and was credibly accused of sexually assaulting and raping multiple women, but the police refused to investigate further, and botched her effort to arrest him on an April 2021 federal felon-possessing-ammunition charge, letting him flee.
The city rebutted Dahl’s claims in a statement that pointed to prosecutorial delays.
Williams wasn’t arrested until April 2023, when a campus police officer in North Carolina found him asleep in his car and learned of the federal warrant. An affidavit says a search of the car found — along with drugs and about $100,000 in cash — digital storage devices with more than 5,000 images of child sexual abuse as well as photos and videos of 52 female victims being sexually assaulted by Williams at his Johnson City apartment while they were in an “obvious state of unconsciousness.”
Many of the videos were stored in labeled folders, and at least a half-dozen names on the folders were consistent with first names on the “Raped” list found in his apartment two and a half years earlier, the affidavit states.
Meanwhile, public outcry over the police response to complaints from a growing number of women prompted the city in the summer of 2022 to order an outside investigation into how officers handled sexual assault investigations. And in November 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened a federal sex trafficking investigation.
Findings from the city’s third-party audit, released in 2023, include that police conducted inconsistent, ineffective and incomplete investigations; relied on inadequate record management; had insufficient training and policies, and sometimes showed issues with gender-based stereotypes and bias.
The city said it began improving the department’s performance while awaiting the audit’s findings, including following the district attorney’s new sexual assault investigation protocol; reviewing investigative policies and procedures; creating a “comfortable space” for victim interviews and increasing funding for officer training and a new records management system.
MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn. (WCYB) — As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, weeks of community support and volunteer effort helped bring a historic project to Johnson County.
County leaders dedicated Tennessee’s first Charters of Freedom display on Thursday at Ralph Stout Park in Mountain City. The permanent exhibit features replicas of some of the nation’s most important founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the four pages of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The display was provided at no cost because it is the first Charters of Freedom installation in Tennessee.
For leaders with the Mountain City Veterans of Foreign Wars post, the project began as a way to mark America’s 250th anniversary but became something they hope will serve future generations.
“About four years ago, the VFW started sponsoring the Independence Day parade because nobody else was,” Mountain City Former VFW Commander Daniel Parsons said. “Every year we’ve built on it and made it bigger and better. Last year we said, ‘For America’s 250th, let’s leave something here for future generations.’”
After contacting Foundation Forward in North Carolina, Parsons said he wasn’t sure when the display might become available. Then, about six weeks ago, he received word that the foundation could have it ready in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.
“It went from a dream to reality in just under six weeks,” Parsons said. “Local volunteers, masons and businesses all stepped up. It really came together fast.”
The Charters of Freedom project began about 15 years ago after the founders of Foundation Forward visited the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and wanted to give other communities the opportunity to experience those same historic documents.
“They wanted to bring that same experience back to their hometown,” a Foundation Forward Director Michael Unruh said. “What was supposed to be one display has now grown across the country.”
There are now 79 Charters of Freedom displays across 19 states. The Mountain City installation is the first in Tennessee.
Parsons said the exhibit was donated because it is Tennessee’s first.
“Because this is the very first Charters of Freedom in Tennessee, it was provided at no cost to the county or taxpayers,” Parsons said. “The foundation simply asked us to help pay it forward.”
Organizers said the display is intended to give more people the opportunity to see the nation’s founding documents, especially as fewer students have the chance to visit Washington, D.C.
“The farther you get from Washington, the fewer people get to see these documents in person,” Unruh said. “That’s the experience we’re trying to bring to communities like this one.”
The dedication ceremony drew visitors from across the country, including members of Parsons’ family.
“This is a great thing. This is absolutely beyond I expected. I am so happy. I almost cried with him when he choked up there in his speech,” said Daniel Parson’s sister, Norma Parsons McPherson.
Leaders also announced plans to bury a time capsule to commemorate the occasion.
“This is such a beautiful thing for our county,” Johnson County resident Buffy Cornett said. “I love my county that I live in, and I love our country. I’m so thankful for my freedom today. I have family that are Veterans and it’s all about them because of our freedom. “
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A First Alert Weather Day remains in effect through Sunday.
FIRST ALERT WEATHER DAY – THROUGH SUNDAY
The Extreme Heat Warning is still in effect for most of Middle Tennessee, all of southern Kentucky, and all of West Tennessee until 8 p.m. Friday because the dangerous levels of heat and humidity continue.
A Heat Advisory is in effect for the Cumberland Plateau until Friday at 8 p.m.
High temperatures today will be in the mid to upper 90s, with a heat index between 105°-110° across most of the area. High elevations in the Plateau could keep that heat index around 100°.
Keep an eye on the sky for a pop-up shower or thunderstorm during the heat of the day. Not everyone will see rain, but any storm could produce heavy rain and perhaps a brief strong wind gust as well.
Dangerous heat and humidity will continue Friday and this weekend. High temperatures will be closer to the mid 90s with a heat index still over 100° each afternoon.
Spotty showers and thunderstorms will develop during the afternoon and evening on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The main focus around storms will continue to be bursts of heavy rainfall, but there’s a slight risk we’ll have sudden strong gusts of wind with any of the storms.
Remain weather aware. If a storm comes your way and you’re outdoors, get inside quickly. Remember – when thunder roars, go indoors.
NEXT WEEK
The worst of the heat and humidity will back off Monday-Wednesday, but temperatures will still stay in the low to mid 90s with a heat index in the upper 90s to near 100.
More chances for daytime heating showers and storms through the first half of next week.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – The U.S. is seeing an increase in cases of a parasite that can cause “explosive bowel movements” — and Tennessee is among the areas being impacted.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a notice on Wednesday that the parasite-induced illness, known as Cyclosporiasis, has been found in 17 states so far this year. As of June 16, there have been 145 cases, 20 of which have so far resulted in hospitalizations.
“These people became sick after eating food in the United States and did not report any travel during the 14 days before they got sick,” the CDC said.
The ages of those impacted have ranged from 5 to 86.
As of June 16, there are an additional 45 cases of people acquiring cyclosporiasis while they were traveling outside of the U.S. Of those, three were hospitalized.
Among both categories — those who acquired in and out of the U.S. — more than half of reported cases were women.
Where are cases of cyclosporiasis?
Of the 17 states impacted so far this year, New York has been the most impacted. Illinois and Texas follow with the number of cases reported.
Other states include Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
What is cyclosporiasis?
The CDC explains that cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis.
How do you get cyclosporiasis?
The intestinal illness is acquired by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with feces and has the parasite in it.
The CDC says that while cyclosporiasis usually isn’t life-threatening, it typically “causes watery diarrhea with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements.”
If left untreated, the illness can last anywhere from a few days to more than a month, with symptoms occurring intermittently.
The illness is common in the spring and summer months.
What do you do if you have cyclosporiasis?
If you think you may have cyclosporiasis, the CDC urges to contact your health care provider. It can be treated with several medications.
“Most people with healthy immune systems will eventually recover from cyclosporiasis without treatment. However, if not treated, you may be sick for anywhere from a few days to a month or longer,” the CDC says. “…People in poor health or those who are immunocompromised may be at a higher risk for severe or long illness.”
Cyclosporiasis cases in Tennessee
The current number of cases in Tennessee has not been confirmed by the CDC or the Tennessee Department of Health.
However, cases in the state are not uncommon and the number of annual cases has been rising, on average, since 2016.
There were six reported cases of cyclosporiasis in the state in 2016. By 2020, that number increased nearly 10-fold.
The last year of reported cases available on the Tennessee Department of Health’s database was 2023, when the annual count was 71.
Copyright 2026 WSMV. All rights reserved.
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