N.Y. Times and Mississippi's forever investigative reporter, Jerry Mitchell, spotlight a second sheriff's abusive record

Sheriff Eddie Scott is a popular and powerful public figure in Clay
County, Mississippi. (Photo by Rory Doyle, The New York Times)

A second Mississippi sheriff is under investigation for repeated acts of sexual harassment, coercion, and abuse of power.

In 11 years in office, Eddie Scott, sheriff of Clay County, "has repeatedly been accused of using the power of his position to harass women, coerce them into sex and retaliate against those who criticize him or allege abuse," report Ilyssa Daly of The New York Times and Jerry Mitchell of the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, which has joined the nonprofit newsroom Mississippi Today. 

"In rural communities like Clay County — dominated by farmland and economic hardship — some sheriffs rule like kings. They can arrest anyone they choose, smear reputations and hand out reprieves and other favors," Daly and Mitchell write. "They have enormous latitude to hold people in jail as long as they please, and they answer to no one, typically facing little press or prosecutorial scrutiny."

The sheriffs' counties

Scott is not the first sheriff to be investigated by this team, a Times investigative fellow and Mississippi's leading investigative reporter for decades. They note, "Three months ago, the Times and Mississippi Today told the story of another sheriff's office less than 40 miles away. Former Noxubee County Sheriff Terry Grassaree rose in the ranks of his Mississippi department and kept his elected office for years despite similar accusations of abuse. He was voted out in 2019 and now faces federal charges of bribery. But in Clay County, Scott remains in power even after repeated allegations of misconduct."

Since 2012, multiple women have submitted court filings alleging Scott's coercion and harassment. No amount of evidence prompted court officials to open a serious investigation. Scott has pursued his victims at will and used his position to punish his accusers, the story reports: "At least five people who accused the sheriff of misconduct, or who were potential witnesses in the cases, said he had retaliated against them, efforts they believe were intended to silence them or discredit their allegations."

The pattern has continued, with a series of complaints in 2017, and in 2021, Caitlyn Wilson, a former Clay County investigative assistant, filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint "that said Sheriff Scott had made sexual advances toward her and threatened to fire her after she rebuked him," Mitcell and Daly report. "She made reference to other women whose similar experiences had not yet been made public. . . . 'It appears to be well-known within the County that the Sheriff suffers from a sexual addiction,' her complaint said. The EEOC did not weigh in on the merits of Wilson's complaint, but determined she had the right to sue. Scott has yet to face any criminal charges. "

In 2021, the FBI opened an investigation. "They interviewed nearly a dozen witnesses, including Scott and staff members in his office. No charges have been filed," Daly and Mitchell write. Scott, 58, has professed his innocence. " He said he has had to defend his reputation from 'con artists' and 'drug users' who were inventing accusations to avoid jail time or somehow benefit financially."

Scott is a popular figure in Clay County. "On the 137-acre spread where his family once raised cows, he hosts fish fries and crawfish boils, where he swaps stories and swigs cold beer with fellow law enforcement officers and some of the county's most powerful officials," the story says.

Scott “believes that he will be vindicated and that voters will see through the allegations to re-elect him in the deciding Democratic primary election on Aug. 8. . . . He will leave office on his own terms, regardless of what becomes of the accusations against him. He said he believes the federal investigation is over." Scott told the Times: "I wasn't going to let a bunch of drug heads run me out of office."