Former Central KY sheriff’s deputy charged after recording strip search of female inmate
A former Clark County sheriff’s deputy appeared in court last week to face a charge of official misconduct after he was accused of violating strip search procedures of a woman in custody.
Cory Cornett, 26, of Richmond, was indicted for a charge of second-degree official misconduct — a misdemeanor offense — in December 2024. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Feb. 17, according to public records.
Court documents show Cornett, formerly a deputy with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, video recorded a strip search of a woman being placed in custody of the detention center.
Clark County Sheriff Berl Perdue was not immediately available for comment Monday afternoon.
On July 30, 2024, Cornett transported a woman and two men to the jail. Jail deputy Rhonda Roe was conducting intake questions of the woman, who told officers she had contraband, according to court documents.
The detention center began to perform a strip search, which Cornett insisted he record on his body camera as evidence for court proceedings. He said he would remove the contraband himself.
Corrections deputy Ashlee Perry tried to explain that they typically have the arrestee remove the contraband themselves, an incident report states.
However, senior deputies said the recording would help “the case.”
“Deputy Roe was the senior deputy, and at this point, I felt that no matter what I said I would would change their minds,” Perry’s incident report reads.
Cornett allegedly stated he “hoped the footage would be played in court.”
In August 2024, Commonwealth’s Attorney David Smith contacted Perdue in reference to the video recording of the cavity search.
“Once the video was reviewed, it was confirmed that the allegations were in fact true and accurate,” a sheriff’s incident reports reads.
Cornett can be seen on video advising the women deputies that he needed to be present during the search and conduct the search himself and advised he “had been trained to do it.”
Video shows Cornett use his flashlight to shine into the cavity, according to the incident reports.
“The entire cavity search was recorded by Cornett with no regard to policy nor the victims privacy,” the report reads.
Cornett was terminated in December 2024 and indicted by a grand jury on Dec. 17, 2024, according to court documents.
