An Oklahoma sheriff has resigned after he was charged with several felonies in connection with coercing and bribing female jail inmates into participating in a "sex-slave" operation he controlled.
Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess faces 14 charges of second-degree rape, seven counts of forcible oral sodomy and five counts of bribery by a public official.
The married 55-year-old grandfather is accused of forcing inmates and convicts to have sex with him in his office, his cruiser, their homes, hotels and even the house of a friend who was away on vacation. Burgess, who had been in charge of the Custer County Sheriff Department since 1994, is also accused of repeatedly sexually harassing a female deputy over the course of three years, including putting his hand inside her trousers when she was being fitted for her first uniform. Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess resigned on Wednesday just as state prosecutors filed 35 felony charges against him, including 14 counts of second-degree rape, seven counts of forcible oral sodomy and five counts of bribery by a public official. Burgess, the top officer in the Oklahoma county of 26 000 since 1994, appeared in court Wednesday and was released after posting $50 000 bail. "We are stunned," Undersheriff Kenneth Tidwell said on Thursday. Attorney Steve Huddleston said that he has not had a chance to review all the allegations against his client, but that "Mr. Burgess is anxious to go to court and clear his name". Among other things, Burgess is accused of having sex with a female drug court participant who was in his custody. The crimes are to have occurred between October 2005 and April 2007. A federal lawsuit filed in October claims Burgess told one drug court participant he would have her sent to prison if she didn't comply with his sexual demands. The lawsuit, filed by 12 former inmates, alleges the sheriff's employees had them engage in wet T-shirt contests and offered cigarettes to those who would flash their breasts. One prisoner alleged she was given more freedom after agreeing to perform a sex act on Burgess, but lost it when she later refused. Burgess also faces two counts each of sexual battery, rape by instrumentation and subornation of perjury, and one count each of engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses, indecent exposure and kidnapping. He could be sentenced to 467 years in prison if convicted on all counts, special prosecutor James Boring said, though a lesser sentence would be more likely. No one else from the sheriff's department appears to be implicated, Tidwell said. "The circumstances are certainly regretful," he said.Labels: breaking news os9user inmates sex slave xxx porn sheriff female jail custer county sheriff mike burgess rape oral sodomy resigned
|
