The DeKalb County District Attorney's office is investigating a DeKalb police sergeant and an investigator for the county solicitor's office for possible obstruction in a rape case, the D.A.'s office said.
Sgt. Eric Adkison was restricted to desk duty last month because of the allegations that he interfered in the investigation into the December rape case, DeKalb police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said.
And now, the D.A.’s office says it is looking at Jeff Jaudon, who works as an investigator for the DeKalb Solicitor-General’s office, in connection with the same case.
“We are actively looking into these serious allegations to determine our next course of action,” District Attorney Robert James said in a statement.
In an email to Channel 2 Action News, Solicitor-General's Office spokeswoman Emily Gest confirmed that Jaudon, a senior investigator for that office's special victims unit, was included in the investigation.
"We learned late this afternoon that the D.A.’s Office is investigating the conduct of several individuals -- including an employee of this office -- who belong to the same motorcycle club," Gest said Monday. "It is our understanding that this employee is a cooperating witness in this investigation. However, out of an abundance of caution, this employee has been placed on administrative leave with pay until the conclusion of this investigation."
Both men belong to the motorcycle club, Front Runnerz.
Jaudon, reached Tuesday by phone, declined to comment.
Adkison could not be reached.
Questions of Adkison’s involvement arose as police investigated an alleged rape Dec. 16, 2011 at a home on Shadow Creek Drive in Lithonia. The incident was not reported to police until Feb. 8.
The victim said she was being given drinks by the suspect of the rape allegation the night of the incident – drinks that she passed on to others.
In an interview last week with Channel 2 Action News and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the rape victim, whose name is not being disclosed, said she was drugged on the night of Dec. 16 and blacked out. It wasn’t until a month later that she realized, after talking with a girlfriend who attended the same party with her and also blacked out, that she had been raped.
“She told me she blacked out and other guys were throwing up from the drinks I gave them,” the witness said, recounting what her friend told her. “She said [the suspect] told other members of the bike club what he did with me.”
The woman said Adkison, the president of the motorcycle club, and Jaudon promised to help her, even walking her through the process to file a restraining order against the rape suspect and pledging to provide counseling for her.
But she said both withdrew their support when a judge told her to file rape charges. Even her friend who blacked out, also a member of Frontrunners, pressed her to keep the secret, she said.
“She told me the club had a lot of cops and could get into trouble if I pressed charges,” the woman said.
DeKalb police continue to look into Adkison’s involvement in the case.
“As a part if this investigation, we are trying to determine if one of our officers influenced a witness or obstructed justice in this case, Parish told Channel 2 in early March. “Sgt. Eric Adkison is currently on restrictive duty pending the outcome of this investigation."
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