Prosecutor Admits Dropping Defendant's Shoplifting, Drug Charges In Exchange For Sex

A former assistant district attorney in Tennessee may be thrown in jail for 10 years after pleading guilty on Monday to soliciting a sexual bribe in exchange for expunging a woman’s criminal charges.

Convicted criminal William McManus Jr, 50, also faces a $250,000 fine upon a guilty plea in federal court, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

According to court documents, McManus had agreed to ultimately expunge a defendant's shoplifting and methamphetamine possession charges in the Sessions Court of Washington County in exchange for sex with the woman, the Associated Press reported.

The dismissal of the charges was a thing of value involving not less than $5,000.

McManus, "acting corruptly," reportedly secured the bribe in 2018 while working for Tennessee's 1st Judicial District as an assistant district attorney, according to court documents.

Further investigations unraveled that he had recurringly engaged in commercial sex acts with the same woman before the bribe but that he previously paid for the services in cash, Law & Crime noted.

The office for which McManus worked handles criminal prosecutions in Washington, Unicoi, Carter, and Johnson counties, which are situated in extreme eastern Tennessee near Johnson City.

The 50-year-old was arrested in 2020 following an investigation by the district attorney’s office and federal agents concerning the possibility of his engagement in illegal sexual activity with a prostitute, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee.

The former prosecutor is slated to front court for his sentencing on Nov. 15, 2021, at 10:30 a.m., before the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville.

His offense bears a maximum punishment of up to 10 years in jail and a $250,000 penalty.

The case was collectively reviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the First Judicial District Attorney General’s Office, and the Johnson City Police Department.

The Department of Justice noted that the prosecution was organized with the Sixth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which was specifically appointed to be a prosecutor for McManus's case.