Authorities in Cleveland, Tenn., said a 30-year-old woman made up a rape claim against a Cleveland police officer in retaliation after he broke off their affair.
Kimberly Minor was indicted and arrested Wednesday on a felony charge of making false reports. Tenth Judicial District Attorney Steve Crump said the evidence will show the rape claim was a calculated response to Officer Carl Walls' actions.
Minor went to SkyRidge Medical Center on Aug. 6 to report that Walls had forced her into sex at a cabin in Gatlinburg. According to interim Police Chief Mark Gibson, Walls recently had ended his affair with Minor and confessed the relationship to his supervisors. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was asked to look into the case.
"The evidence that was developed by the TBI really left no other conclusion in their mind and, frankly, in our mind that this individual, Ms. Minor, had not been truthful," Crump said Wednesday afternoon. Minor was booked into the Bradley County Jail and given a $5,000 bond.
Separately, the Cleveland Police Department is investigating Walls' and Officer Chad Nave's extramarital affairs with women they had met on duty. Nave was seeing a 20-year-old woman he met during a police ride-along program, the police chief said.
Kimberly MinorMinor said she and Walls met after he responded to a domestic call at her former house.
Both officers are on administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation to see if they broke department policy.
Walls' attorney, James F. Logan of Cleveland, said the officer cooperated with the criminal and internal affairs investigations and hopes he will be able to go back to work.
"[Walls] and his wife continue to work together to preserve their family," Logan said. "We are all fragile human beings prone to making grievous errors."
Minor told the Times Free Press the affair had gone on for more than two months. She showed text messages describing how Walls would stop by her house around 6:40 a.m. for sex several times a week while on duty.
On July 30, Minor and authorities said Walls and Nave took the two women to a rented cabin in Gatlinburg. Minor said the officers gave the underage girl alcohol and the couples spent the night drinking and having sex. She said she and the girl left the cabin the next morning.
Police confirmed that two more officers joined Walls and Nave at the cabin for the weekend. But late on July 31, Walls texted Minor and asked her to come back to the cabin.
In her text messages, she said she was "horny" and agreed to join him.
"I told the guys you were coming. They said to bring friends. Lolol," Walls texted back.
After she arrived at the cabin, Minor said, Walls gave her some of his prescribed hydrocodone and she drank half a bottle of Parrot Bay rum.
Later, Minor told Bradley County authorities that Walls forced her to have sex that night. Walls admitted to the affair but denied assaulting her.
The TBI was asked to investigate by District Attorney James Dunn, who oversees the district in Sevier County. The agency let both Dunn and Crump review their evidence case before Crump decided to press charges.
Minor couldn't be reached for comment Thursday evening. If convicted on the felony charge, she faces between two and four years in prison.
Contact staff writer Joy Lukachick Smith at jsmith@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.