Big Sandy guard pleads not guilty to sex abuse charge

A former guard at the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center pleaded not guilty Monday in Johnson District Court to a misdemeanor charge of sexual abuse.

Doug Muncy, who was fired in February after being reprimanded several times for exposing himself to inmates and coworkers, was charged last month with second-degree sexual abuse of an inmate.

Earlier this month, jail officials said the inmate in question, who was serving time on a theft charge, had moved out of the jail to a halfway house. The Herald-Leader does not generally identify victims of sexual abuse.

The charges are part of a wide-ranging state police and auditor's investigation at the Paintsville jail, which serves Johnson, Lawrence, Magoffin and Martin counties. The jail's former board chairman has been charged with theft, and its administrator has been suspended and charged with accepting a bribe.

Muncy is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Aug. 4.

This story was originally published June 14, 2010 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Big Sandy guard pleads not guilty to sex abuse charge."