Man accused of raping woman twice in 2 years
First case resulted in firing of Chattanooga detective
The man whose rape case led to the firing of a Chattanooga detective is accused of rape again — by the same alleged victim.
Fort Oglethorpe police issued warrants for James Leon Works Jr. on Thursday amid charges he kidnapped the woman inside the home of one of his family members. He is facing two counts of rape, eight counts of aggravated sodomy, one count of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of terroristic threats and acts.
Lt. Steve Blevins said Monday afternoon officers had not yet found Works.
This is the second time in two years the woman has accused of Works of kidnapping and raping her. In May 2014, she said Works — a childhood friend — kept her in a Chattanooga motel room for several days.
During the investigation into that case, she said, Chattanooga detective Karl Fields tried to have sex with her. She said he pulled her into the bathroom of a Mexican restaurant while the two were supposed to be discussing her case. A man who identified himself as Fields also asked her in a text message for naked pictures — and that he was watching her from outside her home.
“Were you okay with the things that I did to you last night?” the man asked in a text message after the encounter at the Mexican restaurant. “I was wondering if I should have minimized my freakiness.”
Chattanooga police fired Fields on April 1.
That first case against Works fell apart. Cindy Schemel, a prosecutor brought in from Bradley County to handle the case, agreed to drop charges of possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a prohibited weapon, manufacturing of methamphetamine, aggravated kidnapping and rape.
In turn, Works pleaded guilty on July 7 to charges of possession of methamphetamine and assault. Works had been in jail from June 1, 2014, through July 6, 2015, according to Hamilton County court records, and his sentence on the plea deal was the time he had already spent behind bars.
Before the plea deal, the victim gave a detailed account of her assault. She told the Times Free Press in September 2014 she and Works had consensual sex several times. But in May 2014, she said, he wouldn’t let her leave their motel room.
When she tried, she said, Works choked her, kicked her, punched her, stomped on her, dragged her by her hair to the bathroom, stuck her head in the toilet and urinated on her. She said he also ran a small flame across her back, put out cigarettes on her tongue and raped her several times over the course of two days.
Schemel, however, said the charges against Works could not stick because the credibility of the victim was in question. The victim had been arrested for drug possession, and Schemel said the woman wrote letters to Works while he was in jail. She also said a videotaped sexual encounter between Works and the victim played in the defense’s favor.
“It was certainly consensual sex between the two at or around the same time [as the alleged rape],” Schemel said.
About f ive months after Schemel dropped most of the charges against Works, the victim showed up at the Fort Oglethorpe police station. She said Works raped her again.
Blevins said the woman’s throat was bruised and she had been bleeding from the side of her head. He also said she was injured on her chest, arms and legs.
“She’s bruised up pretty much everywhere you can imagine,” Blevins said.
She told officers the latest assault occurred from Dec. 18-23. She said they began having consensual sex at the home of one of Works’ family members on Forrest Road. Blevins did not know when the two resumed their relationship.
But at some point while they were at the Forrest Road home, she said, she tried to leave. She said Works then threatened her with a handgun and a fixedblade knife.
The woman told officers Works said police would not believe her anymore, that he would not have to go back to jail. The woman said Works raped her multiple times.
At one point, she said, Works fell asleep. She then called her mother, who picked her up outside the house. That is a similar account to how she said she escaped the first time she said Works assaulted her.
Zak Newman, who represented Works in last year’s case, said he had not heard from Works lately and did not know until Monday new warrants had been issued against his former client.
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@times freepress.com or at 423757-6476.