A second lawsuit is filed against the Manvel Police Department in connection with the sexual assault investigations against John Marks and Freddie Douglas

MANVEL, Texas (KTRK) – Five months after a grand jury declined to indict two black men on sexual assault charges, the Manvel Police Department is now facing a second lawsuit. John Marks' new civil rights violation lawsuit in federal court alleges officers failed to conduct a thorough investigation due to racial bias.

According to the lawsuit filed last Wednesday, the sexual assault investigation was based on events that occurred in Marks' apartment between November 8 and 9, 2023. The lawsuit alleged that a neighbor had consensual sexual intercourse with Marks and later with his friend Freddie Douglas.

In an interview ONLY ON THE 13THMarks said the neighbor was a friend and developed a close relationship with her over the course of six months. He claimed she told him she was divorced while she was still married.

A month after the encounter, the neighbor filed a complaint with Manvel police, claiming that Marks and Douglas had kidnapped and raped her. Both men said they were arrested and detained without first being questioned by officers about the allegations. Police charged them with aggravated sexual assault.

“It completely turned my world upside down. It was literally a nightmare having my life in the hands of someone else. It was three charges of the most heinous acts a human being can commit,” Marks said. “I was terrified and thought they were going to come into my house again, which caused me to be extremely alert and unable to sleep.”

Douglas is a former El Campo Police Department officer whose attorney said he was named 2020 Police Officer of the Year. His employment was terminated due to the sexual assault charges.

In March, a grand jury in Brazoria County declined to indict the two men. Marks said he believes his home surveillance video was the key piece of evidence that prevented the case from moving forward. The cameras reportedly recorded the neighbor's arrival and departure, as well as her moving freely around the house.

RELATED: Grand jury rejects sexual assault charges against former El Campo Police detective

Marks' attorney, Justin Moore, claims Manvel police investigators ignored the surveillance video and intentionally left it out of their case out of bias.

“What happened to my client should never happen to anyone in this country, not in 2024. This is something that goes back to the Jim Crow era. When you hear the details, you start to think about cases like Emmett Till. There is a historical element here. It's about the context of black men being falsely accused of sexually abusing white women,” Moore said.

The lawsuit names the City of Manvel, Police Chief Keith Traylor, two officers and the neighbor as defendants. ABC13 has chosen not to name the neighbor because she has not been served with the lawsuit and is not currently facing charges.

Marks said he now struggles with psychological trauma as a result of the ordeal. Although he and Douglas were not charged, he said the investigation has negatively impacted their reputations, tarnished their relationships and jeopardized their future job prospects.

He told ABC13 that part of the reason he decided to file the lawsuit was to prevent future racial discrimination in criminal investigations and to hold those who make false accusations accountable. He is seeking damages, including lost wages, reduced earning capacity, medical expenses and attorney fees.

Douglas has also filed a separate lawsuit himself.

“I don't want anyone else to have to go through that. I was lucky to be in a position where I had cameras and people I could reach out to. Otherwise I would have been a lost brother. I would have been lost for something I didn't do,” Marks said.

Chief Traylor declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation. ABC13 attempted to contact the neighbor, but she no longer lives at her Manvel address and her cellphone number has been deactivated.

For more information about this story, visit Rosie Nguyen's Facebook page. X and Instagram.