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| Sheriff's deputy under investigation after inmate reports sexual assault |
| By Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
| Published: 09/22/2003 |
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A Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy is under investigation for the possible sexual assault of a female inmate in a Milwaukee jail cell, court records show. Kim Brooks, spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Department, refused to discuss the deputy's status with the department Thursday. "Internal investigations are confidential," Brooks said. The 41-year-old deputy is suspected of forcing the inmate to have sexual intercourse Aug. 2, about three weeks before Gov. Jim Doyle signed new legislation that makes sexual relations between jailers and inmates a 40-year felony. The legislation was passed by the Assembly in April and the Senate in June. Doyle did not receive the bill until Aug. 14, the same date the Milwaukee County district attorney's office received court authority to test the deputy for a sexually transmitted disease the inmate acquired while in jail. Deputy District Attorney Jon Reddin said Thursday the case remains under investigation. He declined to say whether the deputy was found to have the disease. Doyle signed the new legislation into law Aug. 20. It carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. But because it took effect after the alleged assault, the deputy could not be charged under the new law. The most severe charge the deputy could face is third-degree sexual assault, with a maximum penalty of 10 years, Reddin said. The inmate was pregnant when she entered the jail May 23 but had given birth a month before the alleged attack, according to court records. She was tested for sexually transmitted diseases after being booked into jail and was found to have none, the records show. Two days after she accused the deputy, the inmate was tested again and was found to have a sexually transmitted disease, the court records indicate. She remains in custody on a charge of armed robbery with use of force. Search warrant records filed Thursday further revealed: Reddin appeared in court Aug. 14 seeking - and obtaining - a search warrant for samples from the deputy to seek evidence of the specific bacterial infection the inmate had. Sheriff's Deputy Robin Estrada, assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division, testified the inmate told her she was in her cell when the deputy entered and told her to remove her clothes, and threatened to write her up for threatening an officer if she didn't comply. She told Estrada the deputy had sexual intercourse with her without consent and allegedly threatened: "If you tell anyone what happened, I'll harm your family." Two days later, the woman was found to have a sexually transmitted disease that did not show up in a jail test June 30. The inmate is scheduled for trial on her armed robbery charge Oct. 1. In July, the defense counsel reported that he needed time to check into the defendant's psychological issues, records show. Reddin declined to comment about the inmate. |
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