Now-criminally indicted former Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Daniel Wilkey has admitted to baptizing a woman after a traffic stop last year, but he claims it was her idea.
The admission was made in a response to a federal lawsuit filed by the woman, who claims she was coerced into letting Wilkey baptize her under the threat of jail time for an alleged drug violation.
“[She] requested she be baptized so she could turn away from her life of drug abuse and crime,” the response states.
The Times Free Press is not identifying the woman because of the alleged nature of her encounters with Wilkey.
The 26-year-old former deputy is at the center of 10 current civil lawsuits, and in December 2019 he was indicted on 44 criminal charges, including six counts of sexual battery, two counts of rape and nine counts of official oppression. Some of the criminal charges are for allegations set forth in the civil cases, including the one involving the baptism.