Jail corporal arrested, accused of sex crimes with inmate

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday arrested one of its own corporals and booked him into jail on suspicion of multiple counts of unlawful sexual relations with an inmate.

Sheriff Jeff Easter refused to release the name of the corporal during a news conference held Wednesday afternoon, but said he was 45 and had been an employee since October 2008. The corporal, who worked at the jail, was promoted to his position about a year and a half ago, Easter said.

He is no longer working for the sheriff’s office. Easter would not disclose whether the corporal had been fired or resigned.

His assignment included working with trusties, inmates who are given additional duties at the jail like doing laundry and answering phone, Easter said. Some of the trusties are women.

Easter said a jail inmate brought the sexual relationship between the corporal and the alleged victim, who is female, to the sheriff’s office’s attention on March 25. The agency on Monday interviewed the alleged victim, who corroborated the story and disclosed that her first sexual encounter with the corporal was Jan. 4 while she was an inmate.

At least two other encounters occurred in the subsequent weeks, Easter said.

The woman is no longer in the custody of the Sedgwick County Jail. Sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Lin Dehning said after the news conference that she was there for just more than three months. She was released in February and is in custody elsewhere, the sheriff’s office said.

The corporal was interviewed Wednesday by sheriff’s office investigators, Easter said, and was jailed when he refused to answer questions.

He is being held on suspicion of two counts of unlawful sexual relations with an inmate and one count of attempted unlawful sexual relations with an inmate, Easter said.

His bond amount was unknown at the time of the news conference. All of the crimes alleged are felonies.

Under Kansas law, unlawful sexual relations with an inmate covers any sexual contact with a law enforcement officer, jail employee or jail contractor, even if it’s consensual.

Easter said the sheriff’s office began investigating the allegations immediately when they were reported.

This is the third case of its kind since Easter became sheriff, he said Wednesday.

“(I am) pretty astonished that we’ve had another deputy in the detention bureau who has decided to discredit the sheriff’s office, who has decided to make the choices … that he’s made.”

But, Easter maintains, the problem is not systemic.

“You have some individuals in here who either somehow got through our hiring process years ago and have turned to this type of activity or (have done so) due to the stresses of the job and the relationships that are built in here with the inmates that they guard,” Easter said.

“It’s not acceptable.”

Easter said Wednesday the investigation into the accusations against the corporal is ongoing and several witnesses still needed to be interviewed, including inmates and jail employees.

The case will eventually be turned over to Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett’s office for review and possible criminal charges, he said.

Asked what the sheriff’s office has done to curb future deputy-inmate sex crimes, Easter said: “The biggest thing we can do is educate, train (employees about the law), which we do, and when these things happen, address them in a very timely fashion and be transparent.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Jail corporal arrested, accused of sex crimes with inmate."