TBI investigates rape, ticket-fixing in Knox DA's office

TBI investigates rape, ticket-fixing in Knox DA's office

May 19, 2005

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- TBI agents are conducting two investigations at the district attorney general's office in Knoxville.

They involve the alleged rape of a female assistant district attorney and traffic ticket fixes for those who knew the right people.

Both cases have been handed over to the TBI and they're considered separate investigations. But it's been made clear to 6 News, the rape allegations led to the questions over fixed tickets.

No charges have been filed in the rape investigation.

The link between the cases is Calvin Dibrell, a former Knoxville firefighter who went to prison for attempted second degree murder and burglary. In November 1990, Dibrell followed a car and shot at three men inside, hitting one of them.

Now, Dibrill is accused of raping a female prosecutor and he's also the reason the TBI is investigating former Knox County prosecutor Mitch Harper.

Harper is being investigated for allegedly helping Dibrill fix several traffic tickets where the charges were dismissed, along with court fees.

"There aren't any allegations at all that somebody did something illegal," says John Gill, with the DA's office. "There certainly were cases handled the way they shouldn't have been handled."

Harper's alleged actions are questionable not only because of Dibrill's criminal background but also, why should he be treated any differently than the 40,000 other people who appear in traffic court every year?

"If you're a first offender and you don't have a record and you want to come in and say, I'm sorry and pay the court costs and go to driving school, that's fine," Gill says. "But if you're just my buddy, we can't dismiss that. It's unacceptable."

Mitch Harper left the DA's office to work at his own practice in spring 2004. 6 News was unable to reach him for comment Thursday afternoon.

6 News contacted Calvin Dibrell Thursday but he declined to comment on either investigation saying, "It wouldn't do me any good. Have a nice day."

How the ticketing system works

If you're cited in Knox County, sometimes you can just pay the fine without going to court. But in other cases, you have to go downtown where five judges rotate through traffic court.

Judge Tony Stansberry says it's common for people to talk with an assistant district attorney and get the case dismissed. But he says driving history is taken into consideration and the cases are usually dismissed with the agreement that court costs will be paid. Plus, a trip to driving school is usually a condition.

"There's an assistant DA assigned to that court. If an accused, or someone who's been cited, wants to speak with an assistant DA to try and work the case out, they're free to do so," Stansberry says.

6 News pulled the numbers from January finding that more than 2,100 tickets were issued. About 900 are still pending. Almost the same number were found guilt, or paid the fine. And 339, or about 16 percent, were dismissed with terms, costs or found not guilty.

6 News Anchor/Reporter Danielle Banks and Reporter Steve Gehlbach contributed to this report.