BREAKING NEWS! Local paramedic arrested on new charges of sexual assault while on the job
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James Lavelle Walley
Walley now faces charges in two counties, plus multiple lawsuits
From Staff Reports
A local paramedic accused of sexually abusing multiple women while they were under his care and being transported in an ambulance is now facing new charges in Greene County.
Paramedic James Lavelle Walley, 55, of Leakesville, was released from the Greene County Jail on Friday after posting a $100,000 bond. Walley was arrested Tuesday, Sept. 3, and charged with sexual battery following an indictment issued Aug. 30 by a Greene County Grand Jury.
According to a copy of the indictment obtained by the Herald, Walley is accused of “engaging in an act of sexual penetration” of a female patient on or about April 18, 2018. The indictment does not specifically say whether the alleged crime occurred while Walley was acting in his capacity as an emergency medical provider. However, law enforcement sources have indicated the victim was under Walley’s care and a patient passenger in the ambulance he was working when the alleged sexual battery took place.
The alleged victim in the case is identified in the indictment. However, the Greene County Herald does not typically identify victims of sexual abuse.
Walley is accused of a similar crime in Jackson County. The longtime Leakesville resident was arrested in October 2018 and charged with sexual battery after an incident on Sept. 16 where he was accused of sexually assaulting a 38-year-old woman while she was being transported to Singing River Hospital.
In that case, the female patient told police at the hospital she had been sexually assaulted by Walley. Investigators responded to the scene and, along with police on duty at the hospital, processed the ambulance and collected evidence which led to the arrest. Walley was later released on $20,000 bond.
Walley and his former employer, ASAP EMS of Mississippi, are also facing multiple lawsuits filed by women alleging sexual misconduct by Walley while on the job.
Five women filed lawsuits in Greene County Circuit Court in January naming ASAP and Walley as defendants. The plaintiffs are three Greene County women and two women from George County, named in the court filings as Jane Does 1-5. In each case, the women accuse Walley of sexually assaulting each woman while they were in a vulnerable state and under his direct medical care.
A search of electronic court records indicates the alleged victim involved in Walley’s recent arrest has also filed suit seeking damages against him and the ambulance company.
