Former Central KY deputy sued for unlawful body cavity search. Criminal charges pending
A woman who alleges she was unlawfully searched by a former Clark County sheriff’s deputy has filed a lawsuit against him just months after criminal charges were filed.
The woman claims in her suit that Cory Cornett, 26, violated her privacy when he illegally video recorded her strip search while being placed in custody of the detention center, according to court documents.
In the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Clark Circuit Court, the woman accused Cornett of battery, intrusion, negligence and outrage. She is seeking punitive damages.
The Herald-Leader does not identify victims of sexual assault.
Cornett was charged with second-degree official misconduct — a misdemeanor offense — in December 2024. At his first court hearing in February, he pleaded not guilty. He was terminated from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office shortly before criminal charges were filed.
What happened during jail strip search
On July 30, 2024, Cornett transported the woman and two men to the jail. Jail deputy Rhonda Roe was conducting intake questions of the woman, who admitted she had contraband, according to court documents.
When Cornett discovered the woman was concealing contraband on her person he said, “Let’s go dude! I love it. That is what I’m talking about, boys,” 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.
“I’ve got to go up there and extract this out (of her),” Cornett is alleged to have said.
Corrections deputy Ashlee Perry tried to explain that they typically have the arrestee remove the contraband themselves, an incident report states. The woman was given no option to remove the contraband herself, according to the suit.
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 not change their minds,” Perry’s incident report reads.
Cornett’s footage of body cavity search
The sheriff’s department policies state that a deputy is only permitted to conduct a body cavity search when given expressed permission by the sheriff or with a signed warrant from a judge. Neither of which Cornett had, documents allege.
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.
