CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Tenn. — A former Cumberland County commissioner and director of the county's Solid Waste Department was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for sexual assault.
According to the Department of Justice, Michael Harvel, 61, was convicted on four counts of sexual assault that included kidnapping and three counts of aggravated sexual abuse. They said 13 women testified about him and according to evidence, they said he abused his authority as a county official to assault women who worked under him at a recycling center.
They said many of the survivors were sent to the recycling center to serve court-ordered community service or were required to keep a job as a term of their probation. They said other women were vulnerable due to struggles with substance abuse, poverty or were the only caregivers for their children.
According to the release, Harvel told one survivor to go to his office at the end of the day to discuss a job opportunity. They said he then locked the door and raped her. The DOJ said he told another survivor that he needed her help with a work project, then drove her to an isolated landfill and raped her.
They said he tried to hide the sexual abuse by threatening the women and other employees so they would not report the crimes.
“While this sentence can’t undo the extraordinary pain and suffering the defendant caused these women, it should send a clear message to public officials they are not above the law and will be held accountable when they sexually assault and abuse people subject to their authority," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, in a release.
In a separate civil action, the DOJ won $1.1 million from Cumberland County to resolve a sexual harassment lawsuit. It alleged that the county did not take adequate precautions to prevent Harvel from sexually harassing women he supervised.