Sherlock Holmes reference helped detective connect jail deputy to inmate groping case
References to characters in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous Sherlock Holmes novel “The Hound of the Baskervilles” helped detectives investigating a report of unlawful relations between a Sedgwick County Jail staffer and a female inmate track down the former deputy now criminally charged in the case.
An affidavit released Thursday says Timothy Baskerville used an email address containing names of the famous fictional private detective and another book character, Inspector G. Lestrade, when he communicated over the jail’s email messaging system, JailATM, with one of the female inmates he’s accused of fondling.
Investigators immediately recognized the “obvious connection” between the crime novel and Baskerville’s last name, which helped to confirm a report that the detention deputy allegedly had been involved in an intimate relationship with a woman in the jail’s custody, the affidavit says.
When investigators interviewed the inmate who exchanged emails with the email address, she said that she and Baskerville had been involved in a relationship since around April 23. She confirmed that Baskerville had been communicating with her via the JailATM system. She said they started emailing each other “instead of talking so much inside the facility” because Baskerville was “afraid inmates and deputies inside the facility were getting suspicious” of their interactions, the affidavit says.
The inmate described having this routine with Baskerville to avoid drawing attention to their intimate sessions:
Baskerville would enter the pod where her cell was located and signal for her to report a fake plumbing issue to the deputy overseeing the pod. Baskerville would indicate he would fix it, turn off water to her cell in the plumbing closet and then go into her cell to “make out” for several minutes including kissing and fondling her. They hid their sounds from the pod deputy by putting a feminine hygiene pad over the intercom speaker. After a few minutes, Baskerville would walk out of the cell to turn her water back on in the plumbing closet then return to kiss her again before leaving.
When investigators interviewed Baskerville, he contended his contact with the inmate was consensual and that he had reached out to her because he was having marital trouble.
In Kansas, any romantic or sexual contact between jail or prison employees and inmates is illegal, even in cases where it would otherwise be considered consensual.
Jail surveillance video shows Baskerville entering the inmate’s cell on May 6, May 8, twice on May 16, twice on May 21 and once on June 21, the affidavit says.
Another female inmate Baskerville is accused of fondling told investigators that Baskerville entered her cell early on May 8, pushed her against a wall, kissed her and touched her. Surveillance footage from inside the jail shows him going into her cell at 5:46 a.m. and staying for two minutes before leaving, according to the affidavit. That woman told investigators Baskerville “would come to her cell and attempt to get her to kiss him.” She also told investigators that “at one point Baskerville told her he tried to get her to be a pod worker so they could go into the janitor’s closet together and have sex,” the affidavit says.
Authorities arrested and booked Baskerville in jail on July 6. He is charged with eight counts of unlawful sexual relations for allegedly kissing and fondling the two women in May and June. Baskerville worked for the Sheriff’s Office from January 2019 to July, Lt. Benjamin Blick said. His next court date is Oct. 29.
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 10:59 AM.
