MONROE COUNTY, Ind. — A special prosecutor has been requested in the Lake Monroe assault case. A filing requesting the change was made on Wednesday.
Sean Purdy is charged with felony criminal confinement, battery resulting in moderate bodily injury and intimidation. Jerry Cox II was charged with felony criminal confinement and battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, as well as two misdemeanors.
The two men were charged in an assault on a Black man during which he says someone threatened to “get a noose” after claiming that he and his friends were trespassing when they gathered at a southern Indiana lake over the July Fourth weekend.
Vauhxx Booker, a civil rights activist and member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission, said he called 911 after the men assaulted him and pinned him to a tree at Lake Monroe just south of Bloomington.
According to court documents, Booker ended up with a mild concussion and bald spots on his scalp, along with a scratch on his cheek and an abrasion on his knee.
“It’s important we send out a message loud and clear that this type of behavior won’t be tolerated,” said Booker.
In response to the request for a special prosecutor, the attorney for Booker issued a statement, reading in part:
"Everyone has seen the indisputable video evidence and they have heard from the numerous witnesses. We ask how often Black Americans are afforded such measures of due process and how often do their cases have special prosecutors appointed. Despite what appears to be a gross inequity, no matter who the prosecutor is, the facts of the case remain the same."
At the time of the charges, the attorney for Sean Purdy issued a statement, reading:
“We are obviously disappointed with the first-term Monroe County prosecutor’s evaluation of this case and her unfortunate decision to charge Sean Purdy while choosing not to file criminal charges against his trespassing assailant.
It appears entire portions of an exhaustive law enforcement investigation (including physical evidence and credible eyewitness testimony) were ignored in reaching that decision. Legitimate and evidence-based charging recommendations by law enforcement officers also went ignored. That is troubling.
Indiana law allows citizens to make arrests of people punching other people on private property, and to use reasonable force in doing so. Indiana also has a broad self-defense statute.
Perhaps the accuser’s public pressure campaign waged by his lawyer and publicist had more influence than we had hoped. Fortunately, the facts of July 4, 2020 have been preserved and the truth exposed to some extent.
Sean must now carry his innocence into the courtroom and fight for his exoneration. We would welcome a jury trial next week so the stigma of false and wrongful accusations can be exposed and repudiated sooner rather than later. A citizen jury won’t be clouded by politics.”
Purdy and Cox could be facing more charges. The FBI is investigating whether this was a hate crime.
