A Spalding County jailer was arrested Friday and is accused of sexually assaulting an inmate at the jail, authorities said.
Detention Deputy Quentin Morgan, 22, is facing charges of sexual assault, sodomy and violation of oath of office, according to the Spalding Sheriff’s Office. He was fired Friday and is being held without bond at the jail where he served. He was hired by the sheriff’s office in April.
“When speaking with the judge, we requested that Morgan be denied bond. He broke the law; he will be held accountable and face consequences,” Sheriff Darrell Dix wrote in a statement.
Credit: Spalding County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Spalding County Sheriff's Office
The sheriff’s office launched an investigation after the inmate reported that Morgan went into his room and assaulted him. After investigators looked at surveillance footage, they interviewed Morgan, who waived his Miranda rights and confessed to the alleged crimes, the sheriff’s office said.
“I’m hurt, I’m mad, and I’m frustrated,” the victim’s mother, Judy Freeman, told Channel 2 Action News. “He’s humiliated, and he’s hurt. And when he hurts, as a parent you are going to hurt.”
Morgan previously served as a jailer with the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office but was fired in March for failing to meet performance standards. He had spent about four months at that job.
On March 2, Morgan allegedly let an inmate into the jail’s tower to watch video of a theft that occurred in the inmate’s cell, according to an interview review from the sheriff’s office. Morgan said an inmate had pushed the emergency button in the dayroom and told him about the theft of his commissary, leading him to review surveillance video to locate any suspects. Once the inmate reached the tower, the review stated another detention officer told Morgan how “it was wrong” and that he “can’t do this.”
“Morgan allowed the inmate into the tower to watch the video. (He) then got on the speaker and told the suspects that they were suspected of stealing the item,” the sheriff’s office said.
Morgan was placed on administrative leave after the incident.
“There were no allegations of sexual misconduct by Mr. Morgan while working in the Coweta County Detention Center,” a spokesperson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
— AJC data specialist Jennifer Peebles contributed to this article.
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