MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Police Department originally investigated allegations against Director of Housing and Community Development Robert Lipscomb in February 2010, according to an affidavit dated Tuesday for a search warrant of Lipscomb’s home.
The affidavit also provides details of the alleged incident. The victim said he was approached by Lipscomb, whom he knew, while walking home from a school track meet in 2003. Lipscomb allegedly offered him a ride home and then pulled over on a side street. The victim said Lipscomb forcefully made him perform a sex act, then gave him $60 and told him to call him.
The victim did not tell anyone about the alleged assault at the time, according to the affidavit. The victim said Lipscomb would send him money via Western Union, and even bailed him out of jail once, and would repeatedly tell him to not tell anyone about what happened. The victim said he told Lipscomb to leave him alone.
The victim reported the incident to police on Feb. 9, 2010, according to the affidavit. An MPD sex crimes investigator took the case the next day and tried to contact the victim but could not locate him. The investigator found a family member who said she would try to find him.
The victim contacted MPD again last month about the case, leading MPD officers to travel to Everett, Washington, to meet with him and follow up. He told investigators the same things he had told police when he filed the original complaint, including that he engaged in multiple sex acts with Lipscomb as a teenager.
Investigators then spoke with Lipscomb, who said he had kept in contact with the alleged victim, the last contact occurring in February via email. The two had known each other from working in the community, he said.
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