Grand jury: No charges in alleged rape case

Police investigation unearthed discrepancies

NASHVILLE - A Davidson County Grand Jury on Thursday said it would not bring criminal charges against a man arrested by police after a woman reported he raped her at Bridgestone Arena.

The grand jury, after considering the evidence in the case, determined it could not charge Cleotha Washington, 51, in the December incident. Washington has been in custody since then.

Nashville police arrested him after a woman, who worked with Washington on a cleaning crew at the arena, reported that Washington locked her in a bathroom and sexually assaulted her. Washington told police they had sex in the bathroom and it was consensual, police spokesman Don Aaron said.

The case took a turn when Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson publicly rebuked Ken Whitehouse, then the spokesman for District Attorney General Glenn Funk, for accessing a police report and releasing it to media. Anderson suggested Whitehouse should resign, and pledged the police department would never publicly identify a victim of rape. Whitehouse resigned shortly thereafter.

The police investigation of the alleged incident unearthed discrepancies, officials said.

“During the continuing investigation after Mr. Washington’s arrest, sex crimes detectives had contact with individuals who advised that Mr. Washington and the victim knew each other, in conflict with the victim’s initial statement,” Aaron said. Detectives obtained both Washington’s and the woman’s cellphones, and saw texts between the two, Aaron said.

“The victim’s phone had issues, perhaps related to a reset, that did not allow for analysis of content that may have been on her device,” he said. All of the police department’s findings were presented to the grand jury, Aaron said.

Washington is a registered sex offender. The Tennessee registry says he committed assault with intent to commit sexual abuse in 2008.

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615726-8968 and on Twitter @sbarchenger.