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CLAYTON COUNTY, Georgia – Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill has been indicted by a federal grand jury with civil rights violations. These are allegations first reported by Channel 2 Action News.
Mark Winne, Channel 2 investigative reporter learned that Hill had been charged on April 19. On Monday, a judge allowed a government request to open the indictment.
Hill was taken into federal custody Tuesday morning and is scheduled to appear in court this afternoon.
This is a developing story. Stay with Channel 2 Action News throughout the day for LIVE Team 2 coverage.
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The indictment alleges abuse involving a restraint chair in the Clayton County Jail, with multiple victims. The initials and allegations for a victim match those of a man interviewed by Winne in June of last year.
Hill faces four counts of deprivation of rights under cover of the law. The sheriff shared the following statement on the charges:
“Today I will begin the process of fighting a politically motivated federal legal case. My legal team is the only one authorized to comment on the details of this case and they are confident about the facts of this case. Meanwhile, throughout this process, I will continue to focus on the Clayton County crime-fighting mission for continued success.
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The alleged victims are identified by their initials in the indictment, but the details of one victim match the allegations made last year.
Lawyer Lee Sexton has confirmed the allegations regarding “victim GH” in the indictment and the civil litigation allegations concerning his client Glenn Howell.
Howell claimed Hill was strapped to a restraint chair for hours and then locked in a suicide watch cell wearing nothing but a paper smock.
“I’m scared with my life of what he’s going to do,” Howell said in an exclusive interview with Winne in June.
Sexton says his client worked for one of Hill’s assistants and threatened to take legal action against the MP for non-payment. The lawyer says his client received a call from someone claiming to be Hill suggesting that he drop the MP’s debt lawsuit.
[RELATED: FBI investigating Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill again, sources say]
Howell said he didn’t believe it was really the sheriff until later, not even after a FaceTime call, and said he used profanity.
He said they had texted and the next day he learned that heavily armed Clayton County fugitive investigators visited at least two houses in Butts County to attempt to arrest him on charges of harassment. communications.
“I was afraid of my life. I didn’t know which way to turn, ”Howell said.
Hill’s attorney denied the allegations.
“Victor Hill didn’t do anything wrong with anyone,” defense attorney Drew Findling said.
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