Post by Shuftin on Jan 6, 2007 16:15:40 GMT -5
January 6, 2007
By TOM CHESTER
A federal court lawsuit filed Friday accuses Claiborne County Sheriff David Ray of raping a 17-year-old girl while on a deer hunt in November.
Already the subject of a criminal investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Ray also is accused of threatening the girl with his service weapon, holding her against her will in his truck and sexually molesting as well as raping her.
"I have no knowledge of this lawsuit and will refer this information to my attorney," Ray said Friday.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville alleges violations of the girl's federal civil rights by Ray and names Ray individually as well as in his official capacity, the Sheriff's Office, Claiborne County and unidentified John and Jane Does as defendants. It seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
It was filed on behalf of the unidentified girl and her mother by Knoxville attorneys Gregory P. Isaacs and Arthur F. Knight III. Isaacs declined comment, citing the pending litigation.
The criminal investigation by the TBI was launched at the request of C. Berkeley Bell, district attorney general for the 3rd Judicial District. His district includes Hancock County, where the offenses are alleged to have occurred Nov. 22 on a private farm partly owned by Ray.
TBI spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said Friday she could not comment on the allegations because "the investigation is ongoing."
The lawsuit, which mirrors the criminal allegations, alleges that the girl rode to the farm in Ray's truck, followed by her grandfather in his vehicle. Both were longtime acquaintances of Ray.
They began hunting deer on different areas of the farm, and Ray allegedly drove the girl to another section of the farm "under the guise of continuing to hunt for deer."
He allegedly removed the console of his truck and brandished his service weapon in front of the girl, who was in the passenger seat. The lawsuit accuses him of touching her thigh, removing her pants and undergarments, raping her and forcing her to perform oral sex on him after he removed his coveralls.
When the alleged sex act was complete, he cleaned himself with a napkin and threw it into the lap of the girl, the lawsuit alleges.
Later that day, the lawsuit states, the girl said she had been raped and on Nov. 23 the girl reported the allegations to authorities in Claiborne County, where she lives.
Bell then asked the TBI to begin a criminal investigation. The results of that investigation will be reviewed by a Hancock County grand jury.
The lawsuit alleges the TBI obtained "DNA from the semen of Defendant David Ray" which was left on the girl's jacket. The lawsuit also alleges the DNA "confirms the sexual assault of Jane Doe" by Ray.
Bell said in an earlier interview the girl's clothing had been sent to the TBI laboratory for analysis as part of the probe.
Ray, who was elected in August, continues to perform the duties of sheriff, and Claiborne County Executive Joe Tyler Duncan was not immediately available for comment.
Ray is a former state trooper, TBI agent and Sessions Court judge. He joined the TBI in 1973. But following a controversial investigation of a Hawkins County double murder case in the early 1980s, Ray and his TBI agent partner who headed up the probe resigned.
In 1982, Ray was elected Sessions Court judge for Claiborne County, even though he was not a lawyer. At that time, a law degree was not a requirement to be a session judge in all counties in Tennessee.
In 1986, while still a judge, Ray was acquitted on federal charges of taking payoffs to allow businesses to have poker machines.
www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_5260435,00.html
By TOM CHESTER
A federal court lawsuit filed Friday accuses Claiborne County Sheriff David Ray of raping a 17-year-old girl while on a deer hunt in November.
Already the subject of a criminal investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Ray also is accused of threatening the girl with his service weapon, holding her against her will in his truck and sexually molesting as well as raping her.
"I have no knowledge of this lawsuit and will refer this information to my attorney," Ray said Friday.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville alleges violations of the girl's federal civil rights by Ray and names Ray individually as well as in his official capacity, the Sheriff's Office, Claiborne County and unidentified John and Jane Does as defendants. It seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
It was filed on behalf of the unidentified girl and her mother by Knoxville attorneys Gregory P. Isaacs and Arthur F. Knight III. Isaacs declined comment, citing the pending litigation.
The criminal investigation by the TBI was launched at the request of C. Berkeley Bell, district attorney general for the 3rd Judicial District. His district includes Hancock County, where the offenses are alleged to have occurred Nov. 22 on a private farm partly owned by Ray.
TBI spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said Friday she could not comment on the allegations because "the investigation is ongoing."
The lawsuit, which mirrors the criminal allegations, alleges that the girl rode to the farm in Ray's truck, followed by her grandfather in his vehicle. Both were longtime acquaintances of Ray.
They began hunting deer on different areas of the farm, and Ray allegedly drove the girl to another section of the farm "under the guise of continuing to hunt for deer."
He allegedly removed the console of his truck and brandished his service weapon in front of the girl, who was in the passenger seat. The lawsuit accuses him of touching her thigh, removing her pants and undergarments, raping her and forcing her to perform oral sex on him after he removed his coveralls.
When the alleged sex act was complete, he cleaned himself with a napkin and threw it into the lap of the girl, the lawsuit alleges.
Later that day, the lawsuit states, the girl said she had been raped and on Nov. 23 the girl reported the allegations to authorities in Claiborne County, where she lives.
Bell then asked the TBI to begin a criminal investigation. The results of that investigation will be reviewed by a Hancock County grand jury.
The lawsuit alleges the TBI obtained "DNA from the semen of Defendant David Ray" which was left on the girl's jacket. The lawsuit also alleges the DNA "confirms the sexual assault of Jane Doe" by Ray.
Bell said in an earlier interview the girl's clothing had been sent to the TBI laboratory for analysis as part of the probe.
Ray, who was elected in August, continues to perform the duties of sheriff, and Claiborne County Executive Joe Tyler Duncan was not immediately available for comment.
Ray is a former state trooper, TBI agent and Sessions Court judge. He joined the TBI in 1973. But following a controversial investigation of a Hawkins County double murder case in the early 1980s, Ray and his TBI agent partner who headed up the probe resigned.
In 1982, Ray was elected Sessions Court judge for Claiborne County, even though he was not a lawyer. At that time, a law degree was not a requirement to be a session judge in all counties in Tennessee.
In 1986, while still a judge, Ray was acquitted on federal charges of taking payoffs to allow businesses to have poker machines.
www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_5260435,00.html