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| Inmates charged with sexual assault |
| By News 14 Carolina |
| Published: 05/31/2004 |
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Sheriff's deputies in Stanly County (N.C.) say three inmates attacked a teenage inmate earlier this month and sexually assaulted him inside a county jail cell. Chief Deputy Rick Conner said it was roughhousing that went too far. "It escalated to where the 17-year-old was tied to the bars there in the cell," Conner said last Friday. "They were harassing him, and before it was over with, it ended up in a sexual assault." Deputies said the three inmates -- Aaron Kletter, 25; Jeremy Lilly, 24; and John Surratt, 26 -- ganged up on the teen, who was in jail on a probation violation. They face kidnapping and sexual assault charges. An Anson County woman said her son was the target. "Heidi," whose identity is being protected for her son's sake, claims that jail officers did not do enough to protect him. "I was devastated," she said. "I mean, I couldn't believe something like that happened in jail. They're supposed to be safe in there." Heidi said jail officers could have stopped the May 12 attack. But an investigation by the Stanly County Sheriff's Office cleared them of any wrongdoing. Heidi is not convinced. She said she has hired an attorney. Conner blames overcrowding for the attack. He said the jail houses more than twice the number of inmates it was designed to hold. The county launched a plan to expand the jail earlier this year, but it could be three years before the project is complete. Until then, Connor said, they are doing the best they can. The three men charged in the attack are being held in lieu of $120,000 bond. |
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