Two former employees of the Falls County Sheriff’s Department have filed complaints against Sheriff Ricky Scaman.
One was filed with the Texas Workforce Commission and includes allegations of sexual assault while the other was filed in federal court alleging sexual harassment.
In the first, former jailer and dispatcher for Falls County, Shirley Boger, said shortly after being promoted from part-time to full-time employment, Scaman began paging her and ordering her to leave her duty on the jail floor to meet him in his office. During the first encounter, she said he closed the door behind her and asked, “Have you been thinking about me?” and followed with “I want you to touch me!”
Boger then alleges Scaman began kissing and licking her face, groping her and then put his hands inside her uniform shirt and then her uniform pants.
Boger said after he finished, he ordered her to straighten up her uniform and leave his office. According to the complaint, this went on for roughly 2-1/2 months with more than 20 “office visits.”
Boger also alleges Scaman pushed her over his office desk, pulled down the back of her uniform pants and had “unauthorized, unwanted and unprotected sex” with her on at least 10 occasions.
She said during her attempts to resist his advances, he would say things like:
- “I’m the boss…I can do what I want.”
- “Nobody is gonna do anything to me…I’m the Sheriff.”
- “I’m not going anywhere. If you want to complain about what I am doing, you can always go back to being a stripper.”
Furthermore, the Boger states, once she said she stopped allowing the advances to happen, she was isolated by her supervisor at the jail, whom she alleged is Scaman’s cousin, and, “Anytime I needed assistance to perform my job duties, or if I mentioned any deficiencies at the jail, I was completely ignored.”
Her lawyer, Scott James, said they filed their complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission around May 23rd and received confirmation that the TWC accepted their complaint and was investigating on May 25th.
When asked whether there was a criminal investigation into Boger's accusations against Sheriff Scaman, James said before he represented her she had contacted the Texas Rangers. As of this writing, the Texas Rangers had not confirmed if they had an active investigation into the claims.
In the second complaint, filed April 5th in the Waco Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Nanci Anderson, another former employee of the Falls County Sheriff’s Department sued the county and Scaman. In the lawsuit, she states Scaman employed her as Assistant Chief Deputy and she and her husband lived with Scaman prior to their permanent relocation to Falls County.
Upon their permanent relocation, she said things changed. In the lawsuit, Anderson lays out a series of alleged discriminatory treatment toward her:
- Scaman allegedly told her she will be subpoenaed to testify against her brother in a criminal case followed by Scaman telling her he would make the subpoena go away as long as she didn’t tell anyone, including her husband
- Scaman allegedly began requesting via text message the plaintiff provide him with a prostitute or “other sexual partner.” Examples of the alleged communication include, “Where’s my d--- hooker?” and “Now – what time will the hooker here? (sic)?
- She states Scaman began referring to her as “Princess”
- Scaman allegedly began taking pictures of Anderson while working from surveillance and sending her the pictures
- Anderson said Scaman suggests she should become sexually involved with him and they could be “friends helping friends,” to which the plaintiff said she declined, elaborating she would never cheat on her husband
- Scaman allegedly asked Anderson for naked or sexual pictures of herself
- During an overnight work-related trip to Austin, Anderson said Scaman verbally told her he would stay in Austin for her to stay with him
- The next day, Anderson said Scaman pressured her to be sexually involved with him to which she said she pretended to forget her overnight bag so she wouldn’t be able to stay. She said Scaman replied, “Oh well – you won’t need any clothes tonight!” and offered to go get the overnight bag
- The following day, Anderson said she overslept and Scaman allegedly responded with, “See….should have gotten a room with me last night….We would both be more relaxed an happier! An you would have been on time.”
- At a conference in Austin, the lawsuit states Scaman continued to request she find him a sexual partner, allegedly telling her if she found him a “friend”, “I’ll be a lot happier to deal with….just think about it. Me happy at the office….no telling what the hell yall will get or do!”
- Scaman allegedly threw Hershey Kiss wrappers at Anderson during a work meeting with other colleagues, she stated in an effort to throw them into her cleavage
- Anderson said Scaman treated her with less respect and dignity than her male colleagues, “applying a different set of standards and consequences.”
Anderson is suing for actual damages, back pay to compensate for loss of income upon her constructive discharge, compensatory damages for severe emotional pain and suffering and mental anguish, and punitive/exemplary damages.
Robert Davis, Sheriff Scaman's attorney, sent statements to Channel 6 Thursday morning in regard to the allegations made by both complainants. Davis vehemently denies any wrong doing on the part of Sheriff Scaman.
"It is a ploy. It is a trick to try to fool the news media and garner attention to get money from my client," said Davis.
Davis also said he believed the women were coordinating together.
Statement regarding the accusations made by former jailer and dispatcher, Shirley Boger:
This claim, asserted by former County Jailer and dispatcher Shirley Boger, is absolutely false. Ms. Boger was terminated for walking off the job during her shift. The Chief Deputy terminated her while the Sheriff was on vacation in Mexico. There is no dispute that she had an altercation with her supervisor, walked off her shift early, and she indicated that she did not plan on coming back. The Chief Deputy separated her from employment as a result.
She texted the Sheriff the same day that she walked off the job complaining about her treatment in the jail, and the Sheriff responded to her by saying that he had no knowledge of the situation and was out of the Country on vacation.
It is obvious from her text messages that she had a good relationship with the Sheriff and was comfortable in complaining about her supervisor to the Sheriff. These are not the type of text messages sent by someone who has been forcibly raped 20 times by the Sheriff in his tiny office surrounded by other Sheriff’s Office personnel. There is no reference to any of the text messages about alleged sexual misconduct by the Sheriff.
She apparently also knew at that time that she was texting the Sheriff that a complaint had been made to the Sheriff’s Office that Ms. Boger had been impersonating a peace officer over the internet and that she had threatened the complaining party with arrest. In her text messages to the Sheriff, once again, after she walked off the job, she refers to the situation involving the impersonation of a peace officer, and states that someone “hacked” her account. Her tone in the text messages is still friendly and relaxed.
When the Sheriff returned from Mexico, he met with Ms. Boger, and allowed her to resign – giving her the opportunity for an honorable discharge on her F-5. She texted the Sheriff after she resigned, and, once again, she was friendly and her tone was relaxed. She made no allegations that anything untoward had occurred between her and the Sheriff. She made no threats to try to keep her job. She made no outcry to anyone prior to or immediately after her separation from employment.
It was only after her son was approached by Sheriff’s Office personnel about riding his 4 wheeler on the County Roads illegally that the tone of her text messages changed. A complaint was phoned in regarding the operation of 4 wheelers on County Roads, and that is what spurred law enforcement in to talking to her son. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Boger started stating on social media that she had been “all but raped by the Sheriff.”
It is also important to note that her “story” has changed significantly over time. Her original TWC claim for unemployment benefits claimed that the Sheriff raped her at his house on November 2017 in the guest bed room while his wife was asleep. Her current version of events does not mention anything remotely like the original allegation.
Ms. Boger previously filed her TWC claim for unemployment benefits, but after we sent copies of her text messages and pages from her social media sites, her attorney called to state that they would not be participating in the appeal hearing. The TWC dismissed her appeal, and the time period to appeal that decision has now expired.
Statement regarding the accusations made by former Assistant Chief Deputy, Nanci Anderson:
Ms. Anderson was offered a position as Assistant Chief Deputy with the Falls County Sheriff’s Office after Ricky Scaman was elected Sheriff in November 2016.
Ms. Anderson and her husband, James, were already friends with Sheriff Scaman and his wife, Staci. The couples met in 2015, became good friends, and frequently socialized with each other. From July 2015 to June 2017, they regularly went out together as couples and families to restaurants and other social events. They spent time together at each other’s homes and with their families. In fact, Ms. Anderson lived in the Scaman’s home for at least two weeks in January 2017, before she and her family moved into their home. Her husband also stayed in the home a few weekends as well.
Ms. Anderson and Ms. Scaman spoke often and communicated by text frequently. Sometimes the texts were between Ms. Anderson and Ms. Scaman, and sometimes the texts included their husbands as well.
Ms. Anderson officially began working as Assistant Chief Deputy on January 1, 2017, when Sheriff Scaman was sworn into office. Sheriff Scaman also hired Steve Smith as his Chief Deputy and Derick Johnson as Captain. Ms. Anderson had previous experience with jail operations, and she was the only person within the new command staff to have such experience. Chief Deputy Smith and Captain Johnson had experience in patrol and law enforcement.
Ms. Anderson would get upset when she wasn’t included in the law enforcement functions despite her lack of knowledge and experience. She was not excluded due to her sex, but instead, it was based on her lack of knowledge and experience.
As for the work environment, everyone who worked in the very small Sheriff’s Office corridor has stated that Ms. Anderson was not treated any differently than the other senior staff by Sheriff Scaman.
We have obtained affidavits from several members of the Sheriff’s staff, and the affidavits support the fact that Sheriff Scaman did not sexually harass Ms. Anderson at work. Staci Scaman has also signed an affidavit and provided text messages which demonstrate the prior personal relationship between Ms. Anderson and Sheriff Scaman and show that the texts that Ms. Anderson relies upon are being misused against the Sheriff. Ms. Anderson knew the comments and texts were jokes, and she often participated in and initiated this type of communication.
Affidavits and text messages by Brandon Gray on Scribd