A former Kentucky lawmaker is suing a Lexington police officer after he was found not-guilty of rape charges earlier this year.
John Tilley once served as the District 8 State Representative in Christian County as a Democrat, and served as the Secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet under former Governor Matt Bevin. He was found not guilty of rape by a jury in July, where he had previously been indicted in 2022 for one count, accused for sexually assaulting a woman at a hotel.
Now, Tilley is looking to sue Sgt. Markell Heyward of the Lexington Police Department—and lead investigator of the rape case—according to WKYT.
Tilley is accusing Sgt. Heyward of malicious prosecution, abuse of process, defamation and state constitutional violations. Specifically, Tilley says Sgt. Heyward made false allegations to obtain a felony indictment.