Ex-jail deputy who ignored vandalism, contraband & had sex with inmates enters plea
A former Sedgwick County Jail deputy accused of having sex with two inmates and standing by as others vandalized and trafficked contraband into a jail cell last year has entered an Alford plea to three counts of unlawful sexual relations and two counts of official misconduct in unrelated cases, court records show.
An Alford plea is a type of guilty plea that allows a defendant to maintain innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors have enough evidence to potentially win a conviction.
Dustin Troy Burnett, 22, of Maize, entered the plea last week after waiving his preliminary hearing in Sedgwick County District Court, records show. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed other sex crimes charges and dropped “in its entirety” a third case where the ex-deputy was accused of repeatedly defying a court order barring him from contacting prosecution witnesses, his Feb. 10 plea agreement says.
He will be sentenced March 30 by Sedgwick County District Judge Tyler Roush.
Authorities have said Burnett had illegal sexual contact with two women housed at the Sedgwick County Jail last summer and solicited a third for sex while he was working as a detention deputy, leading to the sex crimes case. In Kansas, it’s illegal for jail workers and others with authority over inmates to carry on sexual or romantic relationships with them, regardless of age or consent.
One inmate victimized told an investigator she “did not feel like she could say no” when Burnett asked for sex because he was “in uniform and in a position of power over them as the pod deputy,” according to a probable cause affidavit released by the court. He kept notes and conducted internet searches for information on the women and searched the web for pornography of jail guards with inmates, the affidavit says.
Burnett also saw an inmate burning a fist-sized hole into a jail cell window in July and caught others sneaking contraband items through it but failed to stop or report it, authorities say — prompting the official misconduct case. Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter has said jail officials think marijuana and two cellphones were trafficked through the hole and that inmates had planned to bring in a gun.
Burnett worked for the jail from January to July. He was fired after his arrest.
He remains in the custody of the Sedgwick County Jail but is being housed off site, in the Butler County Jail, an online roster of inmates shows.
