Suspected Johnson City serial rapist Sean Williams faces first trial on escape charges

By Anita Wadhwani

Tennessee Lookout

Sean Williams, a former Johnson City businessman linked to scores of suspected sexual assaults, is expected to face his first trial Tuesday in a federal court in Greenville.

Williams, 52, will stand trial on charges related to his attempted escapes from custody — among the lowest level of alleged offenses involving Williams, who is at the center of a widening police corruption scandal in the northeast Tennessee community.

Three separate lawsuits, including a class action lawsuit brought by victims of sexual assault, contain explosive allegations that Johnson City Police took kickbacks in a scheme to protect Williams and thwart his victims from pursuing justice.

Images of Williams allegedly sexually assaulting 52 women and sexually abusing children in his downtown Johnson City condo were discovered  during his incidental arrest last year as he slept in his car on a North Carolina college campus. Arresting officers also found large amounts of cocaine and amphetamines in Williams’ car.

Williams has not yet been charged with crimes related to the women’s assaults captured in the images discovered on his electronic devices. He faces child pornography production charges related to images of children in a federal trial scheduled for August.

He is expected to represent himself this week at trial after a fourth attorney appointed to represent him withdrew from the case last week. WJHL-TV reported Williams was disruptive during last week’s court proceedings, talked over the judge and sought an extension on his trial date after his attorney withdrew, which was denied.

A message left with jail officials seeking comment from Williams  went unreturned Thursday.

The trial focuses on two alleged escape attempts. Jailers said Williams first attempted to escape Washington County jail last July, three months after his apprehension in North Carolina, where Williams had fled from Tennessee after he was indicted for illegally possessing ammunition.

Williams succeeded in escaping a second time in October, when he fled from a prison transport taking him to a court appearance, U.S. Marshalls said. He was captured in Florida a month later.

The case has drawn intense scrutiny as new allegations involving the conduct of Johnson City police have emerged in court filings in the civil lawsuits.

Kateri Dahl, a former federal prosecutor who previously was on a contract to aid Johnson City police with drug prosecutions, filed suit in 2022 alleging she was forced out of her role as she pursued an investigation into reported sexual assaults committed by Williams. Dahl’s suit is scheduled for trial October 22.

A separate class action lawsuit was filed against the Johnson City Police Department, the city and individual police officers alleging that officers took kickbacks from Williams to deter his victims from pursuing justice. That suit is scheduled for trial in April 2025.

Johnson City Police Department officers, the lawsuit alleges, “conspired with Williams to participate in a venture, the purpose of which was to recruit, entice, harbor, provide, obtain, maintain, and solicit women and children, who had not attained the age of 14 years, for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts.”

The class action lawsuit also noted that a Department of Justice probe into the conduct of the Johnson City Police was underway. DOJ officials have declined to comment on the existence of any federal investigation.

Johnson City’s Manager Kathy Ball has denied that the police acted improperly.

A third lawsuit was filed in June by a woman who alleged Williams drugged then pushed her from a fifth-story window during an attempted sexual assault. The suit alleges police failed to investigate the incident, which has left her with permanent injuries. No trial date in that case has yet been set.

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