MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A sheriff's department employee is charged with paying a woman for sex with her 8-year-old daughter, and a special judge was called from out of town for a bond hearing Wednesday because the accused is engaged to a Memphis judge.
Wayne Logan appeared in court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing on child rape charges, but all of the county's judges who preside over such matters recused themselves.
"The General Sessions judges have all agreed that it would be inappropriate for any of them to hear Mr. Logan's case based on Mr. Logan's relationship with a sitting General Sessions judge. His fiancee is a General Sessions judge," defense lawyer Leslie Ballin told local media.
Steve Daniel, a retired judge from Murfreesboro, conducted the rescheduled hearing and reduced Logan's bond from $150,000 to $75,000. Logan remained in jail without making bond and was scheduled for his next court appearance on Feb. 5.
Logan, 60, is engaged to Judge Joyce Broffitt and records show he used her as a reference when he got his job in the sheriff's department's records and identification office about six years ago. He is on paid leave while the case is pending.
The rape charge was filed when the girl picked Logan out of a photo lineup, police spokesman Vince Higgins said.
Police began an assault investigation after the girl complained of pain while at school. She told the school staff she had sex with a man several times and watched him have sex with her mother, who also faces criminal charges.
In Tennessee, general sessions judges handle misdemeanor cases, arraignments and bond hearings and decide whether felony cases will be sent to the grand jury.
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