Detroit man sues 3 women for alleged false accusations in "gardening while black" case
A Detroit man is suing three white women who allegedly falsely accused him of being a pedophile and said he threatened to kill them, eventually leading to his arrest. A lawyer for Marc Peeples, who is black, has called it a case of "gardening while black."
The civil suit says the three women — Deborah Nash, Martha Callahan and Jennifer Morris, Callahan's granddaughter — "conspired to accuse" Peeples of "various crimes that they knew or had reason to know he did not commit." The women told police dozens of false accusations about Peeples between July 2017 and May 2018, according to the complaint, which was filed in Michigan state court last week.
The dispute arose from Peeples' work in Hunt Park, a public park surrounded by blight and abandoned homes. Peeples planted a small community garden there and helped other people in the community by cutting grass and securing abandoned property. But the three women "had prior plans" for the park "and "did not want (Peeples) in the area at all," the complaint says.
According to the lawsuit, the women falsely accused Peeples of threatening to kill them or burn down their house, as well as carrying weapons. While Peeples was teaching homeschool students about gardening, Callahan told police he was a convicted pedophile who was not allowed to be around children. That call led to Peeples being arrested in front of the students in the park, and charged with three counts of stalking.
The women removed Peeples' work from the garden and sought permission from the city to begin their own projects there. As part of his bond, Peeples was banned from the park.
All three women repeated their false accusations during Peeples' trial, the lawsuit says. But a judge dismissed the case and threw out the charges in October 2018. The women allegedly continued to spread the accusations after the trial to friends and journalists.
The lawsuit accuses the women of malicious prosecution, abuse of process, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation and civil distress. It demands they pay $300,000 to Peeples and cover his attorney fees.
Attorney information for Nash, Callahan and Morris was not immediately available.
