In a turn of events, a black Texas man falsely accused of rape is suing a white woman and the police

In November 2023, John Marks and his friend Freddie Douglas Jr. were accused of raping white woman Amanda Zawieruszynski while she was in the pool of Marks' home in Manvel, Texas.

Zawieruszynski claimed in a police report that she was initially at Marks' home because he was hosting a party. She claimed she was held against her will by both men and raped for hours at night and into the early hours. A month later, they were arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault. However, after the evidence was presented to a jury by the local district attorney, they declined to file charges against either of them in March 2024.

Now, months after her arrest, Marks is seeking revenge and is filing a lawsuit against Zawieruszynski, the City of Manvel, the Manvel Police Department, Police Chief Keith Traylor and the two officers involved in the case.

In the ComplaintMarks and his attorneys claim that Manvel police arrested him and Douglas Jr. without fully investigating Zawieruszynski's claims based on their race. He also adds that they ignored surveillance video from his home that immediately showed Zawieruszynski's allegations were false.

The footage allegedly showed Zawieruszynski undressing and joining the two men alone in Marks' pool and engaging in consensual sexual acts. It also reportedly shows Zawieruszynski walking freely around the house, contradicting the claim that she was held against her will.

According to the lawsuit, Manvel Police Chief Traylor was aware of the surveillance footage, but he did not include it in his report to the judge who ultimately signed an arrest warrant. Another officer, Taner Truitt, allegedly made false statements that would have resulted in no arrest warrant being issued.

In a statement to ABC13Justin Moore, Marks' attorney, said: “What happened to my client should not 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.”

While Marks' primary reason for suing was to prevent future racial discrimination, he added that he is suffering psychological trauma and that the sexual assault investigation has damaged his reputation and his chances of getting a job in the future. He is seeking damages, including legal and medical fees and lost earning capacity, according to the suit.

He told ABC13: “I don't want anyone 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.”