HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. — All 44 charges against a former Hamilton County Sheriff's deputy accused of baptizing a woman during a traffic stop have been dropped.
The prosecutor says he sees no avenue of prosecution in the case against Daniel Wilkey. The criminal indictment included six counts of sexual battery, two counts of rape, nine counts of official oppression, and multiple counts of extortion, stalking, and assault.
The allegations against him included:
- A roadside body cavity search.
- An alleged forced baptism.
- The alleged groping of female minors.
The case was assigned to another attorney because Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp used to work at the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.
Wilkey's attorney Ben McGowan released the following statement:
"The Wilkey family is grateful for the honest, disciplined, and thorough investigation undertaken by the special prosecutor in this case. His findings, through painstaking analysis of the evidence, corroborate what we have maintained since the beginning: that the former district attorney's criminal charges against Mr. Wilkey were factually unfounded and should never have been filed."
Former Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston, who was in office when the investigation of Wilkey's alleged actions began, said he's disappointed by the decision to drop the charges against Wilkey.
Pinkston said he remembered the structure of Wilkey's indictment and said all evidence and information about the cases involving Wilkey were turned over to the special prosecutor as Pinkston left office.
Pinkston said he feels he's being blamed for the case being dropped and will no longer stay silent when his integrity is questioned like he was ethically required to do while he was in office.
Pinkston also claims that former Sheriff Jim Hammond and Sheriff Austin Garrett, who was the HCSO chief deputy at the time, gave public statements about Wilkey's search of James Mitchell during a traffic stop in July of 2019 that contradicted what the two said during a meeting at the district attorney's office.
"The day before the video was released, I met with the people in my office, Sheriff Jim Hammond, Austin Garrett, and David Sowder, and some of the conversation after watching that video, it was mentioned that it was one of the worst videos they've ever seen in their law enforcement career," said Pinkston. "And I'm sure the sheriff will deny, the former sheriff will deny that, but he said that in our office."
Local 3 News, a sister station with WBIR, reached out to former Sheriff Jim Hammond for comment on Pinkston's allegations.
Hammond said during a phone call, "I have no idea what he [Pinkston] is talking about."
Hammond said the only thing he said about the video was that an internal investigation would need to happen, and that it did. He said it ultimately showed Wilkey went by the book.
Hammond also said he was pleased with the court's decision to drop the charges against Wilkey.