GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — Federal judge Ronnie Greer has denied accused child rapist Sean Williams’ longshot motion to suppress evidence in his child pornography production case, which goes to trial in less than two weeks.
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE SEAN WILLIAMS CASE
Had Greer ruled in Williams’ favor, it would have dealt a major blow to the prosecutors’ case, which is largely based on part of the evidence Williams sought to have suppressed.
Williams’ defense attorney Mark Brown had contended that Western Carolina University police officer Charles Gooden’s initial seizure of drugs and other items from the front seat of Williams’ car when he was arrested in Cullowhee, N.C. April 29, 2023, lacked probable cause and violated Williams’ constitutional rights. Subsequent searches, whether legal or not, also shouldn’t be admissible using a “fruit of the poisonous tree” legal doctrine, Brown said.
Williams, a former downtown Johnson City resident and business owner, faces up to 30 years each on three federal counts of enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of manufacturing child pornography. The counts are based on alleged abuse against three different children in his home, which he is alleged to have photographed, and prosecutors have said there is photographic evidence of Williams abusing at least two other children who have not been able to be identified…