CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The woman Megan Williams now lives with and the man who rallied to her side shortly after she was found are both skeptical of her most recent claim that she wasn't abused in Logan County in 2007.

"I don't think much of what Megan Williams is allegedly saying. I think she is being manipulated," said Malik Shabazz, head of the group Black Lawyers for Justice. "Her not showing up at the news conference is telling.

"And based on my knowledge of what's been happening with her over the last year and a half, this seems like a scheme by her caretaker to garner sensationalism and publicity in an attempt to get some money," Shabazz said.

Valencia Daniels, whom Megan is living with in Columbus, Ohio, says Williams said Thursday the abuse did take place.

At a press conference on Wednesday, lawyer Byron L. Potts said Williams was recanting her claims about the abuse. He said Williams told him that the only injuries that weren't self-inflicted were the bruises on her face.

Authorities don't believe Williams' new claims. They point to the physical evidence and the fact that all seven defendants pleaded guilty and confessed their roles in the incident.

State Police found Williams on Sept. 8, 2007, at a trailer where Frankie Brewster and her son Bobby lived. Besides the Brewsters, five other people were charged in the case. Six of the seven are now in prison.

Potts said he plans to see that Williams has a mental evaluation; otherwise, he won't remain involved in the case. "The way she reacted to what's going on, I have some concerns about her competence," he said.

Daniels agrees that Williams needs a mental evaluation. She said Williams cut her hair off a week ago, in an attempt to look as she looked shortly after she was found in Logan County.

"She said, 'I'm going to get the same hotel room in New York I got the last time,'" Daniels said. "That's what she wanted, to get attention.

"I believe something happened to Megan but that she exaggerated the story."

During the investigation, Shabazz was critical of the plea deals, criticizing then-Logan County Prosecutor Brian Abraham for not pushing harder.

He said he now agrees with Abraham's decisions. "I agree with him that the convictions were correct and what happened in 2007 was real," he said.

Shabazz said there was never any indication that Williams' story was a hoax or a fraud.

"I also knew that perhaps Megan Williams didn't make the strongest witness, so I understand why there were plea deals even though I still believe they should have been stronger," he said.

Shabazz said he didn't coerce Williams into saying anything. He said he dealt with her primarily though Carmen and Matthew Williams, her adoptive parents. Carmen Williams died in June of this year.

"I only heard [Megan's] story three times through a couple of interviews," he said. "I came into this case with her already having told her story."

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The woman Megan Williams now lives with and the man who rallied to her side shortly after she was found are both skeptical of her most recent claim that she wasn't abused in Logan County in 2007.

"I don't think much of what Megan Williams is allegedly saying. I think she is being manipulated," said Malik Shabazz, head of the group Black Lawyers for Justice. "Her not showing up at the news conference is telling.

"And based on my knowledge of what's been happening with her over the last year and a half, this seems like a scheme by her caretaker to garner sensationalism and publicity in an attempt to get some money," Shabazz said.

Valencia Daniels, whom Megan is living with in Columbus, Ohio, says Williams said Thursday the abuse did take place.

At a press conference on Wednesday, lawyer Byron L. Potts said Williams was recanting her claims about the abuse. He said Williams told him that the only injuries that weren't self-inflicted were the bruises on her face.

Authorities don't believe Williams' new claims. They point to the physical evidence and the fact that all seven defendants pleaded guilty and confessed their roles in the incident.

State Police found Williams on Sept. 8, 2007, at a trailer where Frankie Brewster and her son Bobby lived. Besides the Brewsters, five other people were charged in the case. Six of the seven are now in prison.

Potts said he plans to see that Williams has a mental evaluation; otherwise, he won't remain involved in the case. "The way she reacted to what's going on, I have some concerns about her competence," he said.

Daniels agrees that Williams needs a mental evaluation. She said Williams cut her hair off a week ago, in an attempt to look as she looked shortly after she was found in Logan County.

"She said, 'I'm going to get the same hotel room in New York I got the last time,'" Daniels said. "That's what she wanted, to get attention.

"I believe something happened to Megan but that she exaggerated the story."

During the investigation, Shabazz was critical of the plea deals, criticizing then-Logan County Prosecutor Brian Abraham for not pushing harder.

He said he now agrees with Abraham's decisions. "I agree with him that the convictions were correct and what happened in 2007 was real," he said.

Shabazz said there was never any indication that Williams' story was a hoax or a fraud.

"I also knew that perhaps Megan Williams didn't make the strongest witness, so I understand why there were plea deals even though I still believe they should have been stronger," he said.

Shabazz said he didn't coerce Williams into saying anything. He said he dealt with her primarily though Carmen and Matthew Williams, her adoptive parents. Carmen Williams died in June of this year.

"I only heard [Megan's] story three times through a couple of interviews," he said. "I came into this case with her already having told her story."

Shabazz believes Daniels, the woman Williams is living with, is manipulating her. He said Daniels is a former member of the New Black Panther Party, of which Shabazz is one of the leaders.

"We don't know who Valencia Daniels is," Shabazz said. "There is a serious concern [within the New Black Panthers] that she may be operating as some kind of agent, agent of infiltration ... by the U.S. government."

Shabazz said for more than a year Daniels has been trying to get money out of the Williams case.

"Mrs. Daniels saw Megan as a cash cow, one she could continue to promote and receive funds for," Shabazz said. "But after the plea deals there was no momentum for more money. Justice had been done. So for the last year she's been pressuring the community, the New Black Panther Party, to give her money for Megan Williams."

Shabazz said his organization helped raise more than $20,000 for Megan.

"According to Megan her mother Carmen, the dearly departed, mismanaged the money and Megan saw very little of it," he said. "So when Megan split with her mom she had no finances and was bitter because of the fact that she didn't have any money. She didn't even have the computer Montel Williams had given her [after she appeared on his talk show]."

Williams felt like she had been victimized again, Shabazz said: "And to an extent, I agree, I understood."

Earlier this year, Williams and Daniels started to blame Carmen Williams for Megan's current state, but that didn't bring in any money, he said.

"So as of recently they really switched and came up with the idea that it was all a hoax, a big lie, hoping this would get them back on TV," Shabazz said. "Mrs. Daniels said she was trying to get on the Jerry Springer show and get in the media to raise money. They are constantly asking for money."

Daniels said she took Williams and her sister in because they needed help. Megan started living with her in June 2008, she said.

"They've been tossed around, abused all their lives," Daniels said. "All they do is believe their little stories. I've been trying to get help for them. It is a big mess."

Megan came across Potts when she was looking for an attorney in the phone book, Daniels said.

Daniels said she's raised more than $4,000 for Megan Williams. Of that, she said, more than $2,000 went to pay restitution for Williams' bad check charges.

Reach Gary Harki at gha...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5163.