Kansas bondsman tried to exchange jail inmate’s bail for sex, sheriff says

An 87-year-old bondsman has been accused of trying to trade a Kansas jail inmate’s bail for sex.

Merlin “Jack” Nelson, 87, of Girard, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of attempting to commit unlawful sexual relations, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Nelson, the owner of A Girard Bonding Co., was investigated for allegedly trying to get a Crawford County Jail inmate to perform sex acts in exchange for bonding the inmate out of jail.

“For a bail bondsman agent who’ll go the extra mile to get you out of a bad position, reach out to A Girard Bonding Co.,” the company claims on its website.

Kansas law states that it is a felony for a bondsman to engage in consensual sex acts with someone who is the subject of a surety or bail bond agreement.

Nelson was released from jail after posting a $5,000 bond.

The investigation is ongoing, and detectives asked anyone with information on the case to call the sheriff’s office at 620-724-8274.