Retired police lieutenant says Memphis neglected rape cases -- and forced him to keep quiet about it

A longtime officer testified Wednesday that the Memphis Police Department failed to adequately investigate sexual crimes.

Retired Lt. Cody Wilkerson, a 26-year veteran of the force, gave "bombshell" testimony he complained to top brass, who ignored his calls for reform, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported.

Wilkerson testified that police administrators went so far as to muzzle him from talking to an advocate for victims at the Rape Crisis Center.

"It was making the police department look bad," Wilkinson testified.

The testimony came in a lawsuit against Memphis' mishandling of rape kits. In 2013, it was revealed that 12,000 rape kits had never been tested.

"The lawsuit is not about the circumstances of each individual rape," attorney for the plaintiffs, Daniel Lofton told Judge Gina Higgins Wednesday. "The lawsuit is about, what I call, the insult to the injury."

"It's a very grave insult and a multiple injury to each of this victims," Lofton explained.

Last week, Raw Story reported on "an alleged pattern of misconduct towards female victims of crime" by the Memphis Police Department and Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich.

Watch Memphis rape survivor Meaghan Ybos discuss her ordeal with MSNBC's Ronan Farrow in 2014: