Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Daniel Wilkey, who has been at the center of a criminal investigation and 11 civil lawsuits over the course of his six-year law enforcement career, has resigned.
Wilkey sent his resignation letter to Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond on Friday, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Matt Lea.
“Please accept this letter as my formal resignation as a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy effective this date,” Wilkey wrote. “It has been my privilege and honor to serve Hamilton County.”
Wilkey, 26, was arrested earlier this month after being indicted on 44 criminal charges, including six counts of sexual battery, two counts of rape and nine counts of official oppression. One of the lawsuits he faces alleges the wrongful death of a Rhea County, Tennessee, man. His bond on the criminal charges was set at $25,000, and he was released within an hour.
Most of the civil suits Wilkey faces involve traffic stops, during which he is accused of engaging in several instances of alleged misconduct, including the groping of underage girls, illegal drug searches, a forced baptism and an alleged roadside body cavity search that was captured by dash-camera footage.
On Dec. 20, just over an hour after appearing in Hamilton County Criminal Court for an arraignment that was postponed, his attorney Micah Guster appeared in federal court on Wilkey’s behalf to argue his case for why the civil lawsuit should be put on hold while the criminal case is pending in order to protect Wilkey’s constitutional right against self-incrimination.
Earlier this week, a federal judge set a deadline for Wilkey and his co-defendants to respond to the federal civil suit filed by one of the minors who was in a vehicle stopped by Wilkey and then allegedly was groped by him.
The suit involving the minors alleges Wilkey groped five underage girls under the pretext of a drug search while ordering a boy to strip off his clothes during a traffic stop on April 21.
Each girl has filed a civil suit, and they’re expected to be consolidated once each has been transferred to federal court. The suits also name another deputy, Tyler McRae, for allegedly not stopping or reporting Wilkey to supervisors, and the county itself for allegedly creating a culture that discouraged reporting misconduct.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.