DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga — Deputies arrested a Douglas County Correctional Officer on Wednesday who they say violated her oath and sexually assaulted a prisoner.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office received a letter written by an inmate alleging that Officer Leigh Lewis was sexually involved with an inmate at the jail.
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Sheriff Tim Pounds had investigators conduct a criminal investigation into Lewis. Upon reviewing a video of the inmate’s housing unit who Lewis was sexually involved with, investigators were able to confirm the information and arrest Lewis.
Lewis was interviewed by investigators and admitted to kissing and having sexual relations with an inmate, the sheriff’s office said.
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Lewis worked for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office for a little over a year, initially as a dispatcher, before she transferred to the jail division.
“When my officers do right, are within the law and my policy, I will stand by their side and fight with them all the way. I will not cave to political pressure or a court of public opinion. However, if one of them knowingly and willfully violates the law and the public’s trust, this is what is going to happen to them.,” Pounds said. “I have many great officers and I’m not going to allow one bad apple to spoil the bunch.”
Lewis faces charges of violation of oath by a public officer and sexual assault by a correctional employee. She appeared in court Thursday and was granted $30,000 bail.
Lewis is the second Douglas County jail worker accused of sexual assault this year.
Austin Cole Sluder, 27, was arrested in March after police said he violated his oath as a public officer and committed sexual assault.
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