Crooked Cops

Newton County, GA: officer arrested for sexual assault June 15, 2011 Newton County Detention Officer James Trevor Latham was arrested Monday on charges of sexual assault and sodomy involving a female inmate, as well as violating his oath of office.

The 56-year-old Covington resident was also placed on unpaid administrative suspension. A decision on his future with the sheriff's office should be made soon, Lt. Keith Crum said Wednesday. Latham has been with the sheriff's office since September 2008.

Latham had sexual contact with a female inmate while he was supervising her clean-up crew. These crews clean the entire sheriff's department. Latham was booked into a jail outside Newton County on $11,200 bond.

Crum said the sexual contact was not forced, but under the law a jail supervisor cannot have sex with an inmate. Consent by the inmate is irrelevant.

If convicted, Latham would face one to 25 years of imprisonment or a $100,000 fine or both for sexual assault with someone in custody, one to 20 years for sodomy and one to five years for violating his oath of office.

"It's a sad situation, but it happened. Once wrongdoing takes place, we will take immediate action to correct it. The sheriff's office employees are held to the same standard as the public," Crum said.

In 2010, a female Newton County jailor had an inappropriate relationship with convicted murderer Cobey Wade Lakemper, leading to the firing of her supervisor. The jailer had already been let go because of budget cuts.

Crum said Capt. Sammy Banks, who oversees the jail, would likely change the procedure regarding the supervision of female officers.

"We hire from the same pool as everybody else does. Occasionally disciplinary actions are needed, and we'll take care of them as they come up," Crum said.

BY: Gabriel Khouli http://www.covnews.com/section/1/article/20719/ Comment here