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(NewsNation) — Serial rape suspect Sean Williams, accused of multiple counts of state and federal sex charges, escaped three weeks ago from a prison transport van and has been on the run ever since.
A search is currently underway for Williams, who faces charges including production of child pornography, child rape, aggravated sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a minor.
Williams is alleged to have drugged and raped several women at large parties fueled by drugs and alcohol he threw on the fifth floor of a downtown Johnson City, Tennessee, apartment building where Williams was, in effect, the landlord.
Reporting from Johnson City, NewsNation correspondent Brooke Shafer gained rare access inside the notorious former party house, where she learned more about his reputation and brazen escape from police.
Cynthia Bradford, a former tenant and neighbor of Williams, told NewsNation he has a reputation in town, and it’s not a good one.
Bradford said she knew “something was not right” about the man, who seemed “a little odd.”
“He would open up the refrigerator and have it full of alcohol, and he would go into the bathroom and call it the powder room, and of course it was cocaine,” she said.
Bradford said she and her dog were often kept awake by his parties.
“People were up and down on the elevator, you know, people would pee in the elevator. I mean, women would run onto our floor. People would knock on our doors trying to find the party.”
Following an incident where a woman “fell out of a window” during one of Williams’ parties, police conducted two searches. One of those was of Williams’ safe, and that allegedly turned up dozens of rounds of ammunition.
A resulting lawsuit revealed suspicion among both people downtown and law enforcement officers that Williams was a sexual predator who had committed multiple rapes and was also a significant drug dealer.
Bradford told NewsNation that Williams apparently threatened her, telling her not to speak to the police.
She was also not surprised Williams was able to escape from police custody.
Bradford said police would sometimes come to their building, and Williams would try to hide by climbing up into the air ducts or even the elevator shaft.
“Sean is very, he’s, he’s weird, but he’s kind of got a mastermind,” she said. “So do I think he was able to get out of cuffs? Yes. But though I think he paid people off, absolutely.”
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Williams escaped custody by kicking out the window of the van that was transporting him from the Laurel County, Kentucky, jail to the federal courthouse in Greeneville.
Jamie Mosley, the jailer of the Laurel County Correctional Center, said Williams may have managed to escape police custody utilizing a paper clip.
“Further investigation has revealed that he potentially may have used a paper clip that was discovered in the van where the inmate was seated to free himself from the restraints,” Mosley said.
U.S. Marshal David Jolley told NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield there was a camera in the back of the van, but it was not working and did not capture anything that occurred during the trip.
“Obviously, there was a failure by the transport team of some sort,” he said. “Whether they were in collusion in some way or it was pure negligence or exactly how it happened, investigators are looking into that part of it.”
Williams isn’t a stranger to being on the run. He was a fugitive for two years before being arrested again in April this year.
Authorities warned that Williams is a dangerous and desperate individual and that prosecution would be brought against anyone found to have helped Williams in his escape.
“I wish I knew all the answers to how this happened,” Jolley said.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
NewsNation affiliate WJHL contributed to this report.