$27 million of $28M 'Jane Doe' settlement to come from JC city funds

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Nearly all of a $28 million payment to settle a federal sexual assault-related lawsuit against the City of Johnson City will come from city reserves rather than municipal liability insurance.

A city spokesperson confirmed Monday that $27 million of the total will come from undesignated fund balance and restricted fund balance. The city's municipal liability insurer, held with Public Entity Partners, will chip in its maximum payout of $1 million per the city's policy, Sarah Nobles told News Channel 11 in an email.

As of Dec. 31, the combined fund balance (unaudited) totaled $49.6 million.

The money will settle a suit filed in June 2023 by numerous women who claimed they had been drugged and sexually assaulted by downtown business owner and resident Sean Williams between 2018 and 2021. The plaintiffs claimed the Johnson City Police Department (JCPD) and individual officers failed to properly investigate Williams, with those claims eventually extending to allegations of bribery and corruption.

Johnson City consistently denied all allegations, and the settlement includes language from the plaintiffs' attorneys stating they faced a "significant risk" of not proving their claims.

Williams, now 53, was never charged with sexual assault by JCPD and fled after a May 2021 attempt to serve an ammunition-related warrant at his Johnson City residence. Shortly after his arrest on unrelated charges in Cullowhee, N.C. in late April 2023, authorities allegedly found digital evidence in his possession — photos and videos — showing Williams sexually assaulting dozens of apparently unconscious women.

There were also images showing Williams sexually assaulting and exploiting children at his apartment, and he was convicted on three separate federal counts related to those at a federal trial in November 2024.

Federal Judge Ronnie Greer sentenced Williams to the maximum 90 years on those counts in February. Tennessee First Judicial District Attorney General Steve Finney has told News Channel 11 indictments in at least some of the alleged rapes of women are likely once Williams's federal cases are fully complete.

Two other federal lawsuits against Johnson City related to the Williams case remain outstanding. Johnson City has denied all claims in both of them as well.