An employee of the Anderson County Circuit Court clerk alleges he sent her unclothed photos of himself on a tanning bed, asked for pictures of her breasts and talked about how he enjoyed receiving oral sex.
The allegations against William T. Jones, 49, are contained in a statement the women gave Anderson County human resources officials. 10News obtained a copy of the woman's redacted statement Tuesday.
Like another woman who is now suing Jones in U.S. District Court in Knoxville, the employee alleges Jones frequently SnapChatted with her, sometimes asking for photos of her breasts or of her in a bathing suit.
She also told human resources officials Jones gave her several pay raises until he stopped, suggesting he couldn't give her anymore "until he got me out of my shyness."
The employee is the latest of eight people to come forward since the county launched an investigation in August 2017. Human resources officials, however, had fielded complaints about Jones, who was elected in August 2014, since soon after he took office.
Jones did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
He's previously told 10News the allegations are the result of a political smear campaign timed as he's running for re-election in May.
Anderson County Commission last month called on him to resign and censured him after hearing a report about the allegations of a handful of women, mostly employees, against Jones. He has not been charged with a crime.
Jones is suing one of the women. She is not an employee. Rather, she is a former reporter for the Clinton Courier who Jones alleges defamed him in remarks she gave to human resources officials in their investigation last year.
'Good morning sexy'
The employee making the latest allegations against Jones said in her statement she was reluctant to come forward because she feared losing her job and for her children's safety.
She said after she started working for Jones, a former county GOP chair, he asked her to lunch. She worked in the Juvenile Court division at the time.
He ended up asking her "several times" to dine with him at lunch. She said in her statement she went because she feared losing her job.
Others noticed the frequency that they ate together, she said. Someone, in fact, pulled her aside and told her "she knew that I was uncomfortable about it and to just tell him that I had lunch plans from that point on."
Several months into her employment in Jones' office, she told human resources officials he began contacting her on SnapChat, the instant message application.
"William would SnapChat every morning around 7 a.m. 'good morning beautiful or good morning sexy.' I would respond back, "Good morning," the record states.
The woman said in her statement she felt obligated to respond to ensure she stayed employed. He sent her photos of himself in a suit, asking what she thought.
"Then William started sending me pictures of himself in the tanning bed at his tanning salon in Rocky Top," her statement reads. "There was no private parts showing but he was nude. William wanted me to come to his tanning salon but I told him I owned a tanning bed. Then once he found out that, he started asking me for pictures of myself in the tanning bed."
Other women have told human resources officials that Jones invited them to come to the tanning salon, records obtained by 10News show.
Jones also asked for "pictures of me in bathing suites (sic) or pictures of my breast and I would never respond to the snapchats (sic)," the employee's statement reads.
She said she deleted her SnapChat account in the summer of 2017.
'Many uncomfortable situations'
In her two-page statement the woman told officials her boss put her in "many uncomfortable situations.."
He would talk sexually to her, her statement reads. He would talk about oral sex, her statement reads.
Other women have reported to county officials that Jones talked as well about their breasts, records obtained by 10News show.
Jones gave the woman several raises. Then, he stopped when she reached $12.50 an hour, according to her statement.
"He took me to lunch on the day he gave me my last raise and he proceeded to tell me that he couldn't give me anymore raises until he got me out of my shyness. At that point I knew I wasn't going to get anymore raises, because I had absolutely no desire to put myself in that situation for a raise," her statement reads.
The woman said Jones moved her from Juvenile Court to her own office by General Sessions Court in Clinton. He ordered new equipment to be installed and took part in installing it, her statement reads.
According to her, he told her to crawl under the desk and plug in the wires to the computer modem.
"Once I crawled under the desk, he told me that he really liked the view of the top of my head and then he said I would really like it even better if he could see it right here, pointing at his penis," the woman's statement reads.
The woman said she left the room stunned and embarrassed, pretending she had to go speak with someone.
Jones tried twice to get her to meet him after work. She told human resources officials she was afraid and declined to meet him.
"One of the last inappropriate situations William put me in was he had a 3-day business conference in Gatlinburg and he asked me to go," her statement reads. "He said go with me for at least one evening.
"William said his wife (Amy) wasn't going to be able to attend because she had to keep the grandbaby for the weekend, so he needed some company. I told him I didn't leave my kids like that and I wasn't going to start. That whole weekend he sent numerous amounts of pictures of himself."
Liability concerns
In August, then HR director Russell Bearden and Kim Whitaker began interviewing women about Jones.
Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager notified Jones in September he was the subject of a sexual harassment complaint, records obtained by 10News show.
According to the employee's statement just released, Jones came to her in late September or early October.
He asked if she'd said anything about their SnapChat messages "or anything about the conversations that he had with me."
The woman said she hadn't. She told human resources officials in her statement, however, that she'd shown family members some of the photos and messages he'd sent her.
In her statement, the woman said she decided to come forward because "I have to do what is right.
"This is very hard for me to do, but if I don't do this it will be something that I will have to live with the rest of my life."
Anderson County commissioners have expressed concerns that Jones' alleged conduct makes the county vulnerable to lawsuits and claims. Last week, commissioners said counsel had advised them not to speak about the case.
Commission Chair Tim Isbel told commissioners at their March 19 meeting he and others have consulted the district attorney general, the law director and a government advisory agency among others about the allegations against Jones. He said commission has no authority to do anything against Jones, an independent officeholder.
An assistant district attorney general earlier this month told a WYSH radio audience his wife had been harassed by Jones. He's declined to comment to 10News.
Human resources officials are offering counseling to employees who seek it. Last fall, the county put the woman who has now filed a federal lawsuit against Jones on paid leave.
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank has questioned that decision-making process for putting her on leave and sought hiring an independent counsel to review how the county handled the case. County Commission abruptly put off her request last week to hire someone to look into the matter.
Jones has filed an ethics complaint against County Commission.
Last week his wife Amy posted a message on Facebook, asking friends and supporters to help her speak out about what she said were "false" attacks on her husband.
Jones is opposed in May for re-election by Rex Lynch, former Anderson County mayor who resigned in 2011 after pleading guilty to sales tax fraud. Lynch has said little publicly about the allegations against Jones.
