CHATTANOOGA— A Tennessee deputy is accused of groping a woman and forcing her to choose between jail and being dunked in a lake in a late-night “baptism.”

Court documents show Shandle Marie Riley is suing Hamilton County and deputies Jacob Goforth and Daniel Wilkey for $11 million in connection with a February traffic stop.

Riley says Wilkey followed her to a friend's house from a gas station around 10 or 11 p.m. on Feb. 6, where he initiated a traffic stop, the suit states.

He told her he believed she was in possession of meth, and started to perform a search during which he groped her and ordered her to remove and shake out her bra, according to the lawsuit.

In her car, he found a single marijuana cigarette, which she admitted to having, the suit said.

Then, Wilkey told Riley she was a "piece of shit" and asked her if she was "saved" and believed in Jesus Christ, the suit went on. God, Wilkey allegedly told her, had been speaking to him throughout the interaction.

Wilkey then offered to keep her out of jail if she let him baptize her in Soddy Lake, in nearby Soddy-Daisy, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit says Wilkey escorted her to the Lake and stripped down to his underwear, while she refused to take off her clothes.

Deputy Jacob Goforth arrived at the lake in time to witness the ritual as Wilkey dunked Riley beneath the water, the suit says.

At no point, the suit states, did Wilkey ever speak to a judge on Riley's behalf as he had told her he would.

Sheriff's attorney Rheubin Taylor had no comment, the AP reported.

Wilkey also faces an unrelated excessive force lawsuit in which the defendant says he and another officer performed a strip search with excessive force causing the man to require treatment for anal contusions and surgery on a previously-untreated hernia.

The lawsuits both detail years of reported abuses at the hands of Hamilton County deputies, alleging a culture of misconduct that and an atmosphere from the Sheriff down that led employees "to believe that abusive behavior would not be properly monitored, investigated nor punished and was tantamount to a policy of the County."

Attorney for the complainants Robin Flores deferred all comment to the complaint and indicated his clients declined to comment when reached Thursday evening.

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Reach reporter Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.