EAST ST. LOUIS – St. Clair County sheriff Rick Watson must produce records on sexual misconduct allegations against any member of the department since January 2012, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Williams ruled on Nov. 8.
A Jane Doe plaintiff requested the records for a suit over two assaults that deputy Robert Sneed allegedly committed against her in her home.
She claims Sneed, Watson, and the county deprived her of equal protection and due process under the U.S. constitution.
Sneed faces felony charges of soliciting sex as a reward and accepting it, with trial set Dec. 17 before Circuit Judge Robert Haida.
Williams entered his order after holding a hearing on two days notice, without any motions or objections on file.
He rejected a request from Jane Doe for access to all civilian complaints against deputies in the last five years.
“The request is overly broad and seeks documents for complaints that would be far afield of the allegations in this case," Williams wrote.
Louis Meyer of Peoria represented Jane Doe at the hearing.
Katherine Melzer of the Becker Hoerner firm represented Watson and the county. Nate Brown of Weilmuenster and Keck represented Sneed.
Williams presides over discovery for District Judge Staci Yandle, who in August denied a motion to dismiss Watson and the county.
Yandle found Jane Doe “sufficiently alleges that the claimed actions of Watson make him personally responsible for the constitutional deprivations.”
She wrote that Watson was aware of Sneed’s emotional issues.
She wrote that Doe alleged that widespread informal policies on the part of the county caused her injuries.
Yandle partially stayed Jane Doe’s claims against Sneed in July, to protect him from incriminating himself in Haida’s court.
Lloyd Cueto of Belleville represents Sneed in Haida’s court.