A man claiming to be an attorney in Madison has been charged with raping one of his clients, police said.
According to an affidavit from Metro Nashville Police, Wayne Allen Willemsen was representing himself as an attorney, and one woman gave him $800 to represent her for a case in Sumner County.
The alleged victim said Willemsen showed up at her house, pulled out a badge, and threatened to arrest her if she didn't come to his house.
Police said Willemsen then raped the victim, ate a bowl of cereal, and took her back home.
Willemsen, who’s also a registered sex offender, has worked as a paralegal for a law firm in Madison, where he claimed he's responsible for client relations.?
His bio said he's a member of the Nashville Bar Association, and that he's currently pursuing his law degree to practice criminal defense in Middle Tennessee.
Officials with the Nashville Bar Association confirmed he's a member and stated the following:
"Our members who are attorneys are vetted by the Board of Professional Responsibility and the Tennessee Supreme Court. Tennessee has no regulatory framework for paralegal or associate members. Of course, they do not practice law, and work under the supervision of a licensed attorney."
Undercover detectives wrapped up their investigation into Willemsen this week and arrested him for the alleged rape.
NewsChannel 5 has reached out to his employer in Madison for a statement and more questions, including if they knew his criminal background.
According to online records, Willemsen was incarcerated in Oklahoma for multiple charges of obtaining merchandise by false pretense, three charges of obtaining merchandise by fraud, several charges of obtaining property by false pretense, and one charge of possession of a firearm. The charges stemmed from 1998 and 2003.
