A Cadiz woman has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Paducah naming Trigg County Sheriff Aaron Acree, Jailer James Hughes, and Trigg County Fiscal Court as defendants.
Acree was indicted on November 30 on single counts of fourth-degree assault and third-degree terroristic threatening and two counts of first-degree official misconduct. Each of the charges is a Class A misdemeanor.
Three of the four indictments occurred on January 11 when Crystal Smith was arrested and charged with burglarizing Acree’s home.
Smith alleges assault, battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the lawsuit filed Wednesday.
According to the lawsuit, which represents just one side of the issue, Smith became addicted to pills and heroin in the weeks after the accidental death of her child in 2021. On January 11, she said she had no idea where she was or that she was in Acree’s home.
She was arrested by Cadiz Police and charged with second-degree burglary and possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia. Because Trigg County has no jail, she was to be transported to the Christian County Jail by Jailer Hughes.
The lawsuit said Smith was cuffed and shackled and placed into Hughes’ transport vehicle. Instead of going to the jail, Hughes said he had been instructed to go to the sheriff’s department on Acree’s instructions.
The suit said Hughes walked Smith to a side door of the sheriff’s department where Acree took her inside the building and into a supply closet where he proceeded to assault her.
Smith said Acree threatened to kill her during the assault and then shoved her out of the closet where she fell to the concrete floor while still in restraints.
The suit said Smith cried out in pain and that Hughes then came to the door. She said Acree yanked her off the ground and pulled her to the door.
The suit said Hughes was visibly upset when he saw Smith and was visibly shaking in the front seat of the transport vehicle. Before leaving for Hopkinsville, Smith said Acree partially entered the back of the vehicle where Smith was and screamed that he would kill her if he ever saw her again. Smith went on to claim she believed Acree’s threats.
The lawsuit said Smith had visible bruises on her thigh, ankles, wrists, and arms and that other female inmates were concerned for her the following day. It went on to say that Smith was in pain for a long period of time, still suffers from pain in her hip, and has a permanent scar on her arm from the assault.
Smith said she was contacted by a special investigator from the Kentucky State Police after she began to attend rehab for her addiction.
The suit said Smith is scared to go anywhere in Trigg County because she is afraid of running into Acree and that he will make good on his threat to kill her.
According to the lawsuit, Acree and Hughes violated Smith’s Fourth Amendment right to unreasonable seizure and excessive force; her Fifth Amendment right to due process; and her Eighth Amendment right to not
being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.
In addition, Acree is accused of civil battery and civil assault, and Acree and Hughes are accused of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The sheriff, jailer, and Trigg Fiscal Court are accused in the suit of negligence because they owed a duty of care to Smith who was in their custody and control.
Smith is asking for a jury to award her compensatory damages for economic and other losses; physical pain and suffering, humiliation, embarrassment, personal indignity, apprehension about her future,
emotional distress, and mental anguish.
She is also asking for punitive damages against the defendants.
Acree issued a written statement to the News Edge Monday that said he was innocent of the criminal charges and cooperating with the investigation. He also said he would have no further comment related to the details of the investigation.
An arraignment date for Acree on the criminal charges has not been scheduled in Trigg District Court.
The Trigg County grand jury did not indict Hughes on criminal charges related to the investigation.
