Connect with us

Tennessee

Tennessee suspect in dozens of rapes gets 95 years for child sex abuse images and escape convictions

Published

on

Tennessee suspect in dozens of rapes gets 95 years for child sex abuse images and escape convictions


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man accused in lawsuits of drugging and sexually assaulting dozens of women received a 95-year prison sentence Monday for other types of offenses: the production of child sex abuse images and an escape from an inmate transport van.

Judge J. Ronnie Greer in Greeneville called Sean Williams an unrepentant “organized, methodical sexual predator of women and children,” according to the Johnson City Press. Prosecutors said Williams, who was already in prison, had razor blades in his shoes on his way to court.

Williams, 53, congratulated a prosecutor for a ”dramatic performance” during Monday’s hearing in federal court and implied the images were faked or doctored. Williams laughed, shook his head and retorted when the judge said the only thing worse he could imagine would be being a serial killer.

Earlier this month, Johnson City officials voted to pay $28 million to settle a lawsuit filed by women under “Jane Doe” pseudonyms against the city and individual police officers that claimed police deliberately botched investigations over sexual assault allegations against Williams from 2018 to 2021.

Advertisement

Williams has not yet been criminally charged as a result of the women’s allegations in the lawsuits.

This Sept. 19, 2020 photo shows a downtown Johnson City, Tenn. building where Sean Williams reportedly lived. (WJHL via AP, File)

The city and the officers have long denied corruption allegations, including a claim in the women’s lawsuit that Williams paid police to obstruct investigations into sexual assault allegations against him. The settlement broadly includes up to 400 women, including minors, who lodged any report of sexual abuse or trafficking to Johnson City Police from 2018 through December 2022, due to accusations of gender discrimination. The settlement still requires court approval.

A campus police officer at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, found Williams asleep in his car in 2023 while he was fleeing a federal felon-possessing-ammunition charge in April 2021.

Advertisement

His vehicle contained cocaine, methamphetamine, about $100,000 and digital storage devices with more than 5,000 images of child sexual abuse. Williams was also in possession of photos and videos showing him sexually assaulting at least 52 women at his Johnson City apartment while they were in an “obvious state of unconsciousness,” police wrote.

At least half a dozen names on folders containing videos of women were consistent with first names on a list labeled “Raped” that Johnson City officers had previously found in his apartment, a police affidavit said.

After being charged in connection with the child sexual abuse images, Williams in October 2023 escaped from a van taking him from a Kentucky detention center to a hearing in Tennessee. Authorities caught him in Florida more than a month later.

He was convicted in July of the van escape and in November of the child sex abuse images of a 9-month-old boy, a 4-year-old girl and a 7-year-old girl. Prosecutors said Williams also raped the children’s mothers while they were unconscious and that there were images and videos of them as well. Williams took the sexually explicit photos of one child in 2008 and the other two on separate occasions in 2020, all in his apartment, prosecutors said.

In Tennessee state court, Williams faces additional charges involving minors. In a North Carolina federal court, he’s charged with possessing child sexual abuse images and illegal drugs.

Advertisement

Two other federal lawsuits against Johnson City and individual police officers are still pending over the investigation of sexual assault reports against Williams.





Source link

Tennessee

Tennessee vs Arkansas Preview – Fayetteville Super Regional

Published

on

Tennessee vs Arkansas Preview – Fayetteville Super Regional


The Tennessee Volunteers are set to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in game one of the Fayetteville Super Regional.

Tennessee’s road to repeating as national champs continues on Saturday as they will take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in game one of the Fayetteville Super Regional. The two teams faced off in the regular season and Arkansas took the series. Tennessee won the first game but the Razorbacks won the next two games to take the series.

The two teams will play in a best of three series. The winner will move on to play in Omaha in the College World Series.

The Vols will be looking to end their recent struggles against the Razorbacks this weekend. UT’s last series win against Arkansas came in 2005 while its last series win in Fayetteville was back in 2001.

Advertisement

This weekend will mark the seventh super regional for Tennessee in program history. The Vols have won five of their previous six supers and have posted an 11-4 overall record in those six appearances. After winning the 2025 Knoxville Regional last week, UT is now 26-6 all-time in NCAA regional games played at Lindsey Nelson Stadium and 31-9 overall in NCAA postseason games at home.

First pitch is set for 5 PM ET and will be broadcasted on ESPN for those who want to watch.

Follow Our Social Media Pages:

• Follow Tennessee on SI on Twitter: @VolsOnSI
• Follow Tennessee on SI on Facebook: @VOLS on SI

Follow Our Staff:

Follow Our Website

Make sure to follow our website Tennessee on SI.

OTHER TENNESSEE NEWS



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Tennessee

Passion for fishing brings Arkansas together ahead of Tennessee Matchup

Published

on

Passion for fishing brings Arkansas together ahead of Tennessee Matchup


FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The cliches are abundant when it comes to team camaraderie.

Every group is close together and cares for each other, but rarely does an actual activity bring a hodgepodge of transfers, freshmen, and returning players together.

Fishing, something near and dear to second baseman Cam Kozeal’s heart, has brought Arkansas together as they prepare for their Super Regional matchup against Tennessee.

Left fielder Charles Davalan by his own admission was never the biggest fisherman, but equally passionate about fishing tactics as he is baseball just 24 hours before the most important game of the season.

Advertisement

“Lost my bait this morning,” Davalan said. “I guess I didn’t put the hook on right. But yeah, I lost my bait this morning. I wasn’t too happy about that.”

Kozeal, who split his childhood between Omaha, Nebraska, and rural Sargent, Nebraska, takes pride in his fishing skills. He gave the scouting report on his teammates’ abilities.

“Some guys have gotten a lot better than others,” Kozeal said. “Some are still learning. Brent’s gotten really good. V’s (Wehiwa Aloy) unbelievable, he’s a patient fisherman. Kuhio, if he feels anything on the end of the line, he just sets the hook about as hard as he swings the bat.”

Fishing abilities aside, Arkansas using the newfound hobby as a way to come together as they chase the elusive title. In the age of the transfer portal, coaches are always trying to get a group of new college kids to pull in the same direction as quickly as possible.

“We noticed it in the fall and you always discuss it with your team,” coach Dave Van Horn said about the togetherness. “With all that goes on in the offseason with the portal and new guys, a lot of guys drafted, guys coming in that weren’t here, somehow some way we got to get you guys to kind of gel and like each other and care about each other.”

Advertisement

With school out, there’s a lot of downtime between the regional and the Super Regional, When the Razorbacks take the field for the first game, it will have been 6 full days since the Hogs took the field against Creighton.

Not constantly thinking about baseball and having something to get away to could prove beneficial as the run to the College World Series continues,

“Going out during the day and not just sitting on your couch all day helps,” Kozeal said. “Can also help the mind. You’re not always so tense and focused on baseball, maybe you get away from the game a little bit and that helps some guys.”

No matter what happens this weekend, they’ll be no reports of friction that come tumbling out years later. The team may be in different spots in their fishing journey, but their baseball journey culminates in a series against Tennessee with a spot to Omaha on the line.

“It’s also a fraternity,” Van Horn said. “They’re hanging out, they get to know each other, they’ve become good friends in there, I really believe that.”

Advertisement

First pitch between Arkansas and Tennesee is set for 4 p.m. Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN.



Source link

Continue Reading

Tennessee

Information on Tennessee Traffic Ticket scam – WBBJ TV

Published

on

Information on Tennessee Traffic Ticket scam – WBBJ TV


If you are a victim of this scam, report your interaction to www.ic3.gov.

For more information about common scams and how to protect yourself, visit the Tennessee Office of the Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs at www.tn.gov/consumer.





Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending