Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson sued for slander over human trafficking accusations

A couple once charged over enrolling an ineligible student athlete and publicly implicated in larger human-trafficking allegations is suing Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson, former sheriff's spokesman Randy Jones and 10 unnamed deputies in federal court.

More than two years after filing them, the Alamance County District Attorney's Office dismissed charges of common law obstruction of justice and obtaining property by false pretense against Aris Lamont Hines, 40, and Brandi Kauilani Thomason, 36, formerly of Mebane, on July 6, according to court records, because the state could not "prove every element of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt."

The couple's claims against the sheriff and his deputies include slander, malicious prosecution and violating their civil rights. They filed their suit Wednesday.

In May 2016, during the investigation into the enrollment of Kingsley Johnathan — known as Johnathan Kingsley while enrolled in Alamance-Burlington Schools — the sheriff held press conferences, made public statements and commented to news organizations voicing his suspicions that Hines and Thomason were involved in a larger, multi-state human-trafficking ring, that children were living in deplorable conditions in their Mebane home, and that investigators were searching for three girls it was alleged the couple tried unsuccessfully to enroll in ABSS.

Read more: https://www.journalnow.com/news/state/alamance-county-sheriff-terry-johnson-sued-for-slander-over-human/article_65c2ec3d-70cb-5c83-b26e-e1c6a7b21c0f.html
(Winston-Salem Journal)