TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Feb 17, 2025

The city of Johnson City agreed last week to pay $28 million to settle a lawsuit filed by multiple anonymous women who accused the city police department of failing to investigate a man who allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted dozens of women between 2018 and 2021. The department has denied allegations of corruption or bribery in the handling of the cases, according to WPLN News. The accused assailant, Sean Williams, is currently in jail on charges of producing child sexual abuse images and escaping police custody, though he has not yet been charged in connection with the women's allegations. The lawsuit is one of three accusing the police department of mishandling evidence that Williams was drugging and assaulting women for years. The city said it has since improved department practices, including adopting a new sexual assault investigation protocol and creating a "comfortable space" for victim interviews.