Bradley District Attorney to handle rape case in Chattanooga tied to police officer

photo James Leon Works Jr., an accused rapist, appears before Judge Barry A Steelman on the third floor of the Hamilton County Courthouse on September 25, 2014. Chattanooga police officer Karl Fields investigated the crime and was put on administrative leave after the alleged victim told the district attorney's office that Fields tried to have a sexual relationship with her while he investigated the crime.

Steve Crump will drive into town from Cleveland, Tenn., to prosecute the Chattanooga rape case that has one local police officer's job in jeopardy.

Crump, the district attorney in Tennessee's 10th Judicial District, was asked to handle the case of James Leon Works Jr. after prosecutors here recused themselves. Crump usually prosecutes cases in Bradley, McMinn, Monroe and Polk counties.

But Works' case required a district attorney from outside Chattanooga because prosecutors here have a longstanding working relationship with Karl Fields, the lead investigator on the Works case. Fields is accused of pursuing a sexual relationship with the victim. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into whether Fields broke any laws while investigating Works' case.

On Sept. 4, the alleged victim in the case gave Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston a collection of text messages from a man identifying himself as Karl Fields. In the messages sent from June through August, the man asks the victim to send him naked pictures and have sex with him.

The woman met Fields after she said Works brutally beat her. For two days in May, she said, Works locked her in a Chattanooga motel, punched her, kicked her, stomped her, dragged her by the hair, forced her to take methamphetamine, raped her and urinated on her.

Chattanooga police arrested Works in June on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana and rape. His attorney, public defender Blake Murchison, did not return several calls seeking comment.

But during Works' court appearance Thursday morning, Murchison told Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman that Crump would be prosecuting the case from that point.

Crump was not at the hearing Thursday, but he confirmed that he will be taking the case. He said the District Attorneys General Conference -- the administrative office for all of Tennessee's local prosecutors -- assigned him to the case late last week.

Crump said he will need some time to catch up on the ins and outs of the investigation.

"I don't know anything about the case yet," he said, "other than I've been asked [to prosecute it]."

Works is next due in court for a status hearing on Nov. 3.

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6476.

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