Black Woman Imprisoned and Raped by Racists

Megan Williams, 20, who is Black, was recovering in hospital after her week-long ordeal. She was imprisoned, raped, choked, subjected to racial slurs and endured many other terrible abuses. Six persons, three males and three females, were arrested and charged with multiple felonies related to this incident. They were all white. They all had criminal records. Since 1991, police have filed 108 criminal charges against the six. See the video here

An anonymous tip about a woman being held against her will, led Logan County sheriff’s deputies to the house where Megan Williams was incarcerated. On arrival they were met by Frankie Lee Brewster who was sitting on the front porch and at first said she was alone at home. Megan then showed up at the door with her arms outstretched, saying “Help me.” She had four stab wounds in her left leg and her eyes were bruised. Six people face charges, including kidnapping, sexual assault and lying to police in the torture of Megan Williams, 20, at the remote hillside home in Big Creek, a rural area about 50 miles southwest of the West Virginia state capital, Charleston.

A criminal complaint filed in Logan County said the victim told police that suspect Karen Burton said, “That’s what we do to niggers around here” after cutting the woman’s hair, choking her with a cable and cutting her ankle with a knife.

There was much more to come. The woman’s captors forced her to eat dog and rat droppings. They also poured hot water over her, made her drink from a toilet, and beat and sexually assaulted her during a span of about a week.

Logan County Prosecutor Brian Abraham said that while race appeared to be a “contributory factor,” he denied there was a problem with racial tension in the area.

“This is unprecedented in Logan County,” he said. “We don’t have a problem with racial crime.”
“It’s the kind of thing you would see in a horror movie,” Abraham said.

“I mean, I’ve been in law enforcement for over 30 years, and this is probably the most horrendous thing that I’ve ever seen or ever encountered,” said Logan County Sheriff Eddie Hunter.

All six defendants are in jail in lieu of $100,000 cash bail each.

• Frankie Brewster, 49, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and giving false information during a felony investigation. According to the criminal complaint, Brewster forced the victim to have oral sex with her, threatened to kill the victim and withheld information from police when they arrived at her residence to investigate a missing person report.

 

• Bobby Brewster, 24, also of Big Creek, is charged with kidnapping, first-degree sexual assault, malicious wounding, assault during commission of a felony. According to the criminal complaint, Brewster forced to victim to have sex with him, threatened to kill her, stabbed the victim and forced her to eat rat and dog feces and drink from a toilet bowl.

 

• Danny J. Combs, 20, of Harts, is charged with sexual assault and malicious wounding during the commission of a felony. According to the criminal complaint, he forced the victim to have sex with him at knife point.

 

• Karen Burton, 46, of Chapmanville, was charged with malicious wounding, battery and assault during the commission of a felony. According to a criminal complaint filed in Logan County, she pulled the victim’s hair, choked the victim, cut her ankles and told her “that’s what we do to niggers around here.

 

• Burton’s daughter, Alisha Burton, 23, and George A. Messer, 27, both of Chapmanville, are charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery. According to the criminal complaint, Burton beat and choked the victim.

Both Megan Williams and her mother, Carmen Williams, agreed to release her name to the press. Carmen Williams said she wanted people to know what her daughter had endured. See her interview here

“I want other parents and other mothers to realize that there are people out there like that. To keep a closer eye on their children,” she said. “You never think it’ll happen to your child but obviously I never thought, but here we are.”
“I know the Lord will somehow bring us through this, but you know, it’s just devastating,” said Carmen Williams.

Neighbors in Charleston recalled her as sweet-natured but said her family members kept largely to themselves. “They were isolated, in a way,” said the Rev. Norman Jones of the Greater Emmanuel Gospel Tabernacle, which Carmen Williams attended. “Carmen was very protective of Megan, so it was hard to know her well.”

It appears as if Megan knew at least one of her attackers. According to prosecutor Brian Abraham, Megan was not a random target. She had a “social relationship” with one of the suspects, Bobby Brewster. “That is based on the fact that she was present at his residence on a prior date.” Bobby Brewster was charged in July with domestic battery and assault after a domestic dispute involving Megan.

U.S. Attorney Charles Miller announced that his office will not seek federal charges in the alleged rape and torture of Megan Williams:

“Because of the serious nature of the pending charges in Logan County, both in the factual allegations and in the potential penalties if the defendants are convicted, we have and will continue to work closely with local authorities,” Miller said in a release. “At this time, we believe it is appropriate to defer to the Logan County Prosecutor in pursuing the state charges against the defendants.”

While federal civil rights or state hate crime charges remain an option, a state kidnapping count that carries a sentence of up to life in prison will provide the best chance for successful prosecution, officials said. State hate crime charges, which carry a sentence of 10 years, could come later, prosecutor Brian Abraham said. State sexual assault charges carry a penalty up to 35 years in prison.