Worker at KY jail allegedly gave female inmates alcohol, pills and sexually assaulted them
A former contract supervisor at the Pike County Detention Center faces criminal charges and a lawsuit alleging he raped and sodomized female inmates.
Jordan Hall, 38, of Pike County was indicted this month on five charges of third-degree rape, three charges of third-degree sodomy and four charges of giving contraband to inmates.
The contraband involved was alcohol, pills and THC gummies, according to the indictment.
Hall has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Earlier this week, Pikeville attorney William R. Johnson’s firm filed a federal lawsuit against Hall alleging that he violated the rights of four inmates, including their right to be free from unwanted sexual advances, unwanted touching, sexual assault and retaliation.
Hall was an employee of KellWell Food Management, a Kentucky company that provides services under contract to jails, including food services.
Hall supervised kitchen operations at the Pike County jail on some days between November 2021 and February while inmates worked in the kitchen, according to the lawsuit.
The civil complaint alleges that Hall brought alcohol and drugs to the jail, pressured women to use the substances and “lured, threatened, and coerced” them into sexual acts.
Hall also threatened that there would be “negative repercussions” for the women if they told anyone, the lawsuit says.
The statute on third-degree rape makes it illegal for a jail employee, contractor or volunteer to have sex with an inmate. It is the same law that bars sex with minors, who can’t legally consent to sex.
Third-degree rape and sodomy are Class D felonies, punishable by one to five years in prison.
The defendants in the lawsuit are Hall, the food-service company, the county fiscal court as owner of the jail, and Jailer Brian Morris.
The Herald-Leader generally does not identify victims of sexual assault.
The lawsuit says that the four women suffered mental and physical pain and severe emotional trauma and distress. It argues that KellWell, the jailer and the county are liable for Hall’s wrongdoing.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of damages to compensate the women and their lawyers and punish the defendants.
Morris said the jail has a policy in place, as required, to handle allegations of rape.
The jail handled the case properly after one of the women reported an alleged assault some months after it occurred, Morris said.
Morris said he asked an outside agency, the Pikeville Police Department, to investigate, and police then presented the case to a grand jury for a decision on whether to charge Hall.
“If this occurred, I absolutely felt justice needed to occur” for the inmates, he said.
