Officer fired, accused of sexual acts with inmate

A Jay County Jail correctional officer has been fired and is accused of engaging in sexual acts with an inmate.

John Richard Norris, 32, was charged in Jay Circuit Court on Feb. 21 with a Level 5 felony for sexual misconduct. According to documents filed in connection with the case, Norris allegedly “did knowingly or intentionally engage in sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct” with an inmate.

Jay County Sheriff’s Office administration learned about the alleged act Jan. 31 from the inmate’s cellmate, identified as Paige Curtis in court documents. Both the inmate, referred to as “KB” in court documents, and Curtis told investigators “KB” performed oral sex on Norris in December. Text messages between Norris and “KB” were also described as “of a very sexual nature,” according to court documents.

Norris was arrested Feb. 2 and terminated the same day from the sheriff’s office.

Curtis told investigators “KB” was “hyper sexual and wanted some male attention,” court documents say. She said Norris slipped “KB” his phone number on the back of a female hygiene pad while working in December

Curtis told investigators “KB” had been flirting with Norris on the jail’s messaging system, “Chirps,” and that he expressed sexual arousal and a desire to be alone with her. 

At about 2:20 a.m. Dec. 15, “KB” began choking on a potato chip while in her cell. Norris entered her cell and performed the Heimlich maneuver on her. Curtis told investigators Norris and “KB” then began kissing.

Later that night, Curtis said, Norris returned to their cell and “KB” and Norris had oral sex. Curtis tried to leave the cell but Norris would not let her, she told investigators. She also said he lent his e-cigarette to other female inmates while joking about having oral sex with them.

“KB” told investigators she had oral sex with Norris, and after the initial incident Norris was “in and out of the cell block many times,” walking into the cell to “expose himself to them,” according to court documents.

Video surveillance from the night of the incident lines up with the testimony from “KB” and Curtis, the report says, although the view is obstructed by books and papers across the cell bars.

Jay County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy Ben Schwartz confirmed the department is taking measures to prevent similar situations in the future.

“We’re looking at better training for our officers, hopefully they can see that repercussion can happen when this occurs, and it’s not taken lightly,” he said.

Jay County Sheriff Ray Newton noted plans to buy body cameras — he shared hopes for Jay County Council and Jay County Commissioners to allocate American Rescue Plan Act dollars toward the purchase — and require all deputies and correctional officers to wear them during their shifts.

“I think once we start getting body cameras back there, cameras don’t lie, and it’s going to tell us everything we need to know,” he said.

Like Schwartz, he also stressed training for officers, pointing out the majority of the correctional officer staff has been employed at the jail for less than a year. When an officer notices something doesn’t seem right, he said, they should question it.

“If we hear something like this, we are going to investigate, and we are going to hold people accountable for their actions while working at the security center,” he said.