FBI: Fugitive wanted for child rape charges, spotted in WNC, captured in Florida
A man who escaped from a prison transport van in Tennessee over a month ago ― and was recently spotted in Western North Carolina ― facing multiple charges of sex crimes against women and children, has been captured in Pinellas County, Florida, the FBI says.
After being spotted at a department store in Sylva on Nov. 17, Sean Christopher Williams, 51, was seen in Pinellas County Nov. 21 and taken into custody later that day, per the FBI.
“Williams was apprehended without incident after being tracked down by a K-9 officer and his partner,” the FBI said in a social media post.
According to the FBI, Williams is a concrete and glass business owner who was originally born in Florida and has ties to Cullowhee, North Carolina, and Johnson City, Tennessee.
The man was wanted for escaping a transport van while being moved from a detention facility in Kentucky to the federal courthouse in Greenville, Tennessee. He was in federal custody for three counts of production of child sexual abuse material and one count of distribution of cocaine.
Initial reporting: Former WNC man charged with child rape escaped prison transport van, still on the run
Williams was placed in a transport vehicle by a detention officer in Laurel County, Kentucky, but when the transport van arrived at the Greeneville courthouse around 8:30 a.m. Oct. 18, the detention deputy discovered the back window of the van had been kicked out, court records say.
After his escape, Williams was seen several blocks from the courthouse in Greeneville, asking a resident to borrow a phone, according to the FBI.
Williams was on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Most Wanted list “for two counts of rape of a child, sixteen counts of esp. aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of aggravated sexual battery (under 13).”
Williams spotting: FBI: Prison escapee charged with child rape spotted in Sylva, Jackson County
The apprehended escapee was federally indicted on Sept. 12 for “producing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Tennessee. Prior to his escape, a trial was set for Jan. 23, 2024, according to the release.
Beyond his child sex charges, Williams is at the center of two lawsuits that allege the Johnson City police knowingly failed to investigate multiple complaints from alleged sexual assault victims. Williams is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting more than 50 women, according to reporting from The Tennessean.
Police Chief Steve Lillard at Western Carolina University Police Department, an agency that previously arrested Williams, told the Citizen Times, “In the investigation that we assisted with it appeared that the majority of the crimes that had victims were in the Tennessee area based on what was shared with us.”
Escapee on the loose: Escapee charged with child rape, seen in WNC, evades capture 34 days later: What we know
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Fugitive wanted child rape spotted in Sylva captured in Florida
