Tennessee corrections deputy accused of having sex with inmate

Authorities in Tennessee on Tuesday charged a corrections deputy who allegedly had sex with an inmate. According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the suspect, identified as Akira Jones, was with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

She is said to have engaged in sexual intercourse with an inmate at the Shelby County Jail. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in a statement said that in December last year, they received a complaint about a corrections deputy allegedly having sex with an inmate in the facility. 

Deputy Jones was ultimately identified as the suspect after an investigation was launched, the statement said, adding that the suspect was “immediately placed on administrative leave.” 

“The Sheriff’s Office notified the District Attorney’s Office, and Sheriff’s investigators worked to bring the case before a grand jury for indictment,” the statement said. Jones, who was hired in May 2023, was arrested and charged with Sexual Contact with Prisoners.

“The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office instructs all personnel, at hire and at in-service, that sexual contact between an officer and detainee is a criminal act that will lead to prosecution and termination,” the statement said. 

“It is forbidden by law and policy. The SCSO will not tolerate the misconduct of any employee and will continue to hold our employees accountable to the highest ethical standards to ensure our public’s trust.”

She has since been fired after being initially placed on administrative leave without pay. 

Earlier this year, Face2Face Africa reported that a grand jury in Long Island had indicted a former jail nurse who allegedly had a secret relationship with an inmate and arranged to get him a ceramic knife while he was being held at the Nassau County Correctional Center.

48-year-old Yasmin Talbot’s position at the Nassau County Correctional Center was said to be the second highest. The inmate Talbot was accused of having a secret relationship with was identified as 37-year-old Christopher Wright. Talbot tendered her resignation in September after she was suspended in August. That was after an investigation was launched. She, however, later got a job at a nursing home, and she was arrested on January 3.