Third Lawsuit Faces Sheriff's Department

December 09, 2004

KNOXVILLE - In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court here, the cousin of slain Scott County Deputy Hubert D. "John John" Yancey claims she was raped and later denied treatment.

The lawsuit names the Scott County Sheriff's Department, Scott County Jail and former Jail Administrator Mike Wilson as co-defendants.

In the complaint, Samantha Yancey alleges that she was drugged and "gang-raped" by several people, including members of law enforcement. She charges that she reported the rape to Deputy Yancey on November 5, 2003 and was subsequently arrested by Deputy Yancey on drug-related charges and transported to the Scott County Jail.

At the jail, Yancey alleges that she informed jailers that she had been raped and asked for medical treatment, which she was initially denied. Two days later, Yancey was allegedly taken to Scott County Hospital, where she says she reported the rape to a physician. The lawsuit states that she was treated for dehydration and released, and that she asked for a rape test kit but the test was never performed.

Yancey further alleges that she attempted to have the rapists prosecuted in Anderson County, where she says the rape occurred, but was told there was not enough evidence. She further claims that the sheriff's department's failure to request the hospital to perform a rape test made prosecution impossible.

The complaint alleges several civil rights violations and seeks monetary damages.

Three weeks after Yancey contends she reported the alleged rape to her cousin, Deputy Yancey was killed in the line of duty when he was accidentally shot and killed by his partner, Marty Carson, according to the official report from District Attorney General William Paul Phillips' office. Phillips announced on December 3, 2003, that the shooting had been ruled an accident and that Carson had been cleared of any wrong-doing by an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Nearly one year later, on November 21, 2004, Yancey's widow, Lori Yancey, filed a suit in Scott County Circuit Court and in U.S. District Court alleging that Carson intentionally killed her husband. One week after Yancey's lawsuit was filed, Oneida resident Mark Shane New filed a second suit in Scott County Circuit Court, claiming that he was set up by Carson and other members of the sheriff's department to be a "fall guy" for the shooting.

Sheriff Jim Carson, who is named as a co-defendant in both Yancey's and New's complaint, has come to the defense of his son and his department, calling the allegations "outlandish" and "absolutely false." In a written statement, he said that he is "absolutely certain" that his department will be exonerated when the cases are heard in court.

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