Judge approves class-action status in Johnson City lawsuit

A judge has approved class-action status for alleged rape victims of Sean Williams in their lawsuit against Johnson City and some of its police officers. Friday’s ruling also okayed a request to add two individual defendants from the Johnson City Police Department. The judge granted almost all the changes attorneys had requested to a suit originally filed last June. The amendment allows additional alleged victims to join the lawsuit as class members without having to testify in court and also creates a class of sexual assault victims with no ties to the Sean Williams case. The City has previously denied all allegations in the lawsuit. If the case isn’t dismissed or settled, it is set to go to trial in late spring 2025.