Former officer pleads to sexual misconduct with detainee

A former Jay County Jail correction officer pleaded guilty Friday to engaging in sexual relations with an inmate.

William B. Bentz, 36, Portland, pleaded to three counts of sexual misconduct in which a service provider engages in fondling or touching with a person who is subject to lawful detention or supervision with the intent to arouse or satisfy sexual desires, all three Level 6 felonies. As a part of his plea agreement, a Level 5 felony for sexual misconduct  when the service provider engages in sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct with the person subject to lawful detention or supervision was dismissed.

Bentz’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. March 13.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed in connection with the case, Bentz engaged in sexual acts with an inmate, identified as J.G., between March and April 2024. Bentz allegedly fondled the inmate’s breasts and vagina on several occasions, allowed her to touch his penis and took her into an exam room at the jail and had her perform oral sex on him April 28.

The affidavit says video footage shows Bentz visiting J.G.’s cell and removing her from her cell block an “extremely abnormal amount of time(s)” between March 23 and April 28. He also took her into rooms that are off-camera on several occasions, according to the affidavit. Documents say J.G. could be seen rubbing her crotch with a smile on her face while talking to Bentz in the hallway or at her cell door.

“It is clear that Bentz and (jg) are engaging in way more than just work and officer inmate activity,” the affidavit says.

J.G. told police she had been a willing participant in the relationship, but that Bentz was becoming more aggressive by the day, and it was beginning to scare her. 

She said Bentz paid a lot of attention to her initially. He asked her to write sexual letters to him, which he would collect from her during his shifts at the jail. 

“It started out as if she wanted the attention from Bentz but turned out to be more than she wanted and she wanted it to stop after some time,” court documents said. 

She said he would refuse to stop, and she felt forced to participate. 

J.G. said Bentz asked her to pretend she was sick on April 28 and he removed her from her cell block and took her to the exam room to “check her vitals,” the report says. She then performed oral sex on him. J.G. also said they fondled one another in the commissary room at one point. 

She said she exposed her breasts to Bentz while the jail commander was in the cell block in a separate cell area once and couldn’t see them.

She also alleged Bentz threatened her, saying she would “catch another charge” if she told anyone about their relationship. He would get upset if she didn’t provide him with letters detailing sexual acts between them and threatened she would get in trouble if others found out about it, she told police. In exchange, Bentz provided her with tobacco pouches and gifts.

J.G. told police Bentz informed her that he and his wife would like her to move in with them to be their “unicorn” once she was released from jail, court documents say.

Bentz denied allegations when police interviewed him, saying he had done nothing wrong and didn’t have a sexual relationship with J.G.

Other inmates shared similar stories to J.G., although one said neither she nor any of her cellmates saw what Bentz was doing with J.G. in her cell.

In Indiana, a Level 6 felony sentence ranges between six months and two and a half years, with an advisory sentence of one year. There’s also up to a $10,000 fine.