Sheriff says new video raises questions about claims of sexual assaults inside Clark County jail

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Clark County Sheriff released a new video on Wednesday refuting claims that more than two dozen women were harassed and sexually assaulted inside the jail.

Sheriff Jamey Noel said this latest video raises big questions. It shows part of an interview with an unnamed woman who he said was housed at the jail in October when the alleged assaults took place. She implies those attacks never happened.

"Not one person in that pod, and I'll sear on a stack of bibles, screamed 'Rape, help me' or anything. None of that," she can be heard saying in the video.

Twenty-eight women have filed lawsuits claiming they were harassed, threatened and sexually assaulted while being housed in the Clark County Jail in October 2021. The alleged attacks are claimed to have happened after former jail officer David Lowe reportedly sold keys to the women's dorm to male inmates on this last day on the job. Lowe was arrested and is facing felony charges for his alleged actions.

Former Clark County jail officer David Lowe.jpeg — Former Clark County Jail officer David Lowe is accused of selling keys to male inmates who then accessed female dorms.

Noel has since created a website, "Clark County Facts," to dispute the claims. The latest post to the site on Wednesday shows a detective interviewing an unidentified female inmate in November 2021.

"Nobody said anything about 'I was raped, I was sexually assaulted, I was beaten up, I was forced into this,'" the detective asks, to which she responded "Nope, none of that started (until) they said they got caught. When Lowe got arrested and then they got busted, that's when all that come up."

The clip starts sometime in the middle of the interview, and a 14-second portion of it is edited out. She describes a fellow female inmate telling her to "keep to her story" about being assaulted by a male inmate because of their "major lawsuits."

"Just to be clear though, none of that happened, correct?" The detective asks. The woman responds "None of that happened, none of that happened."

Local attorney William McCall is representing 22 of the women filing lawsuits against Noel and the jail.

Attorney Perry McCall.jpeg — Jeffersonville Attorney Perry McCall III is representing 22 women who claim they were sexually assaulted by male inmates at the Clark County Jail in October 2021. (WDRB photo)

"I don't know if this is an individual that's part of many in the lawsuits that have been filed. distant from the general appearance, it doesn't appear to (be) anyone that we represent," McCall said.

He argues the video is incomplete and edited, and while the woman said she never heard screams of "rape," it doesn't mean they didn't happen.

"I think the only thing that was indicated is that no one was yelling 'rape, rape' from this particular witness, or whoever she is," McCall said. "So there's nothing that, in that video, that in any way negates the claims that the individuals that we represent were sexually assaulted."

Noel, through his website, said the interview raises questions about whether some of the women housed at the jail were pressured to make false claims for the purpose of the lawsuit.

McCall said they've assessed their clients' accounts and believe them to be genuine.

"I just know, at this particular point, once we get into discovery there's going to be a lot of evidence that, that is a lot more than just a snippet that the sheriff feels is important for him to save face and community," he said.

Noel has maintained that the allegations are "blatantly false." But attorneys representing the women in the various lawsuits have said they have evidence that proves Noel wrong, including a pregnancy and STD.

Some surveillance video of the night in question has been released on the "Clark County Facts" website, which Noel started "to shoot down the lies and deliver transparency to the community."