6th lawsuit filed against St. Paul police sergeant

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - A sixth, multimillion-dollar lawsuit has just been filed against St. Paul police Sgt. Heather Weyker, other members of the police department and the City of St. Paul.

The suits involve a sex trafficking case in 2010 that stretched between St. Paul and Tennessee.  The defendants were accused of trafficking minors spent in some cases, several years behind bars. 

But, an appeals judge found that Weyker lied and fabricated evidence.  The judge wrote in her opinion that Weyker "likely exaggerated or fabricated important aspects of this story" and that the "district court caught Weyker lying to the grand jury and later lying during a detention hearing.”

The judge also pointed out federal prosecutors in Minnesota would not even take the case.  A Tennessee prosecutor eventually did take the case, which led to the incarcerations. 

Eventually, the defendants were either acquitted or their cases were thrown out.  Civil rights attorney Bob Bennet t filed the latest lawsuit on behalf of Mohamed Omar Sharif.  He said his client is struggling to rebuild his life after spending more than four years in jail and 13 months on electronic home monitoring.

“The mere label of child sex trafficker, there's nothing really worse you could be called.” Bennett said. 

St. Paul police and the City of St. Paul declined comment on pending litigation. The city attorney said he is expecting more and Bennett said he has six more lawsuits he expects to file.

Weyker still works for the St. Paul police department in research and development.