MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Thursday WREG pushed for more answers from the Wharton administration about the Robert Lipscomb sex scandal.
“The only reason I was in the front end of this one was because a call came to me personally and because of the nature of it I was not going to turn it away,” said Mayor A C Wharton when questioned by WREG’s Shay Arthur.
Nearly two weeks ago, Mayor Wharton took a call that rocked his administration and sent shock waves through the community.
A 26-year-old man, now living outside of Seattle, Washington, claimed he was forced to perform sex acts on Lipscomb more than a dozen times when he was under 18.
But as an affidavit for a search warrant obtained by WREG revealed, he went to police years ago.
The alleged victim said he went to Police in 2010 and told them his story.
We tracked down Lipscomb’s accuser who was angry.
“They didn’t do enough,” he told us over the phone.
The affidavit said Police tried to talk to the alleged victim and get his story by going to the Union Mission, but they never found him.
Wharton said his office never knew of the initial complaint.
But WREG asked him if more could’ve been done to talk to someone making such serious accusations against a high ranking official.
“That gets into the investigation and I’m not going to comment on that,” was all Wharton would say.
The mayor may have stayed quiet but Lipscomb’s accuser didn’t.
“You could’ve found me. I wasn’t far. You could’ve looked at my record and found my auntie and you could’ve found out where I went,” he said.
Earlier this week the city said nine people have come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Lipscomb, but Thursday they wouldn’t say if there has been any more.
They have asked anyone with complaints to call CrimeStoppers.