Two days after a pair of Black men received a $2.5 million settlement for being sexually abused by a group of corrupt cops in Mississippi known as the “Goon Squad,” a Rankin County official falsely accused the Black men of being rapists and drug dealers.
Now Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker have each filed individual defamation lawsuits against Rankin County Supervisor Steve Gaines who made the false accusations during a sheriff-sponsored breakfast attended by about 100 people, including media on May 3, 2025.
Despite the seven-figure settlement, Gaines was bragging that the attorney representing the county, Jason Dare, “beat the pants off those guys – the dopers, the people that raped and doped your daughters. He beat their pants off.”
But neither Jenkins nor Parker have ever been charged or convicted of sexual assault.
Meanwhile, six members of the Goon Squad, including five former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies and one former Richland police officer, are now serving lengthy prison sentences for torturing and sexually abusing multiple victims, some of whom are still coming forward.
Mississippi Today, an online news site, reported Gaines’ remarks three days later, sparking a backlash from residents who demanded his removal.
“Gaines was referring to Eddie Parker and his friend, Michael Jenkins, who were beaten, tased and sexually assaulted by the deputies before they shot Jenkins in the mouth during a mock execution,” Mississippi Today reported last year.
“The deputies tried to plant a BB gun and drugs on the men to cover up their crimes, but they were ultimately convicted and sent to federal prison for decades.”
Gaines refused to comment for the article but released a statement about a week later, denying he was referring to the two Black men.
“I’ve recently been accused of singling out two individuals during a speech where I spoke about a wide range of issues facing Rankin County,” he said in the statement published by WAPT.
“I want to be clear that my comments were not aimed at anyone personally, and I did not name any individuals.”
But not only did he not clarify whom he was referring to when he made those comments, he specifically named the attorney who represented the county in the “big lawsuit.”
“We come out of last week with the best settlement we could never even expected to come out of there like that,” he said, according to the recording published by Mississippi Today.
Considering the degree of corruption, abuse and negligence committed by the Goon Squad since 2004 — and the fact that the two Black men were suing for $400 million only to receive $2.5 million — it is understandable why he was complimenting the attorney.
So perhaps he will retain Dare now that he is being sued as the sole defendant in two separate lawsuits for defamation which were filed Monday, May 4, by Mississippi attorney Trent Walker.
Although Rankin County is not listed as a defendant, the lawsuits accuse it of failing to take action over his comments.
“The County’s failure to address such misconduct demonstrates deliberate indifference. As a direct result, Plaintiff suffered reputational harm, humiliation, and emotional distress,” the claim states.
‘We Were Accused of Dating White Women’
The abuse against Jenkins and Parker took place in January 2023 after a neighbor complained they were staying with a white woman who was a friend of theirs they had been helping because she was disabled.
The deputies forced their way into their home without a warrant, spending hours torturing them, ordering them to strip naked and sticking dildos in their mouths as well as attempting to thrust the dildo into Jenkins’ anus.
One deputy also rammed a gun into Jenkins’ mouth while he was handcuffed and fired a single shot, shattering his jaw and lacerating his tongue.
Jenkins and Parker were jailed on false drug charges, which were eventually dismissed.
And the six cops, including Rankin County deputies Brett McAlpin, Christian Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Jeffrey Middleton, Daniel Opdyke as well as Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield were convicted on multiple charges in 2024, and are now serving lengthy prison sentences.
“Me and Eddie in this event were called racist names,” Jenkins wrote in a statement to the judge read by his attorney during the sentencing of the deputies.
“We were called [n_ggers], we were called monkey, we were called boy, and we were accused of dating white women.”
Dedmon, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison, was sued in November by a white man accusing the former deputy of pulling out his penis and rubbing it on his face and bare buttocks while McAlpin, Elward and Opdyke held him down.
The man, Alan Jackson Schmidt, had been pulled over for an expired registration. He was transported to jail but never charged with a crime. He is also being represented by Walker in his lawsuit, the attorney representing Jenkins and Parker, who lists various incidents involving the Goon Squad.
Gaines, who is not listed by name in Schmidt’s lawsuit, is part of the Rankin County Board of Supervisors, who are accused along with the sheriff of allowing the Goon Squad’s pattern of abuse to continue for years.
“The Rankin County Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Bryan Bailey had actual and/or constructive knowledge of a pattern of violent conduct carried out by deputies of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, who had no expectation that they would be disciplined for their unconstitutional behavior,” the claim states.
