Sex inquiry at St. Louis jail leads to sheriff standoff

ST. LOUIS — Police are investigating allegations that a sheriff’s deputy had repeated illegal sexual conduct with a detainee in the downtown St. Louis jail — allegations that, on Friday, led to a standoff between the newly elected city sheriff and a top jail administrator.

St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery said the deputy in question, a three-year veteran of the office, is no longer employed, and that the office is investigating the incident.

But multiple city officials, including Montgomery, said when Montgomery went to the downtown jail on Friday to question the detainee himself, Deputy Corrections Commissioner Tammy Ross blocked his access.

Montgomery acknowledged that he then had her handcuffed and detained.

“This is the result of denying the sheriff’s office access,” Montgomery told KSDK (Channel 5).

“You do not deny the sheriff, the top law enforcement officer in the county, access to the jail of his detainees,” he said.

Montgomery also said it was illegal for police to talk to detainees in his custody without his permission.

Police Department Spokesman Mitch McCoy released a statement late Friday saying the department was aware of “a potential incident” at the jail Friday, and had no further comment.

The sheriff of St. Louis, unlike his counterparts across the state, does not run the jail or perform general law enforcement. The city Corrections Division oversees the jail. The police department handles law enforcement. Sheriff’s deputies transport prisoners to and from court, provide courthouse security and serve legal papers, such as eviction notices and protection orders. State law does allow them to do some law enforcement, but only if it is “incidental” to their customary duties.

Blake Lawrence, a lawyer for Montgomery’s office, maintained that deputies acted lawfully Friday. He said they were there because they believed evidence relevant to an internal investigation was at risk of being destroyed, and took lawful action to prevent that.

He said he was not aware of any police investigation into the illegal sexual conduct. He said, however, that the sheriff’s office has reached out to city police chief Robert Tracy multiple times in the past, and the chief hasn’t responded.

The relationship between the male deputy and female detainee began several weeks ago, said a source familiar with the investigation, and was reported to the police on Thursday.

Detainees cannot legally consent to sexual relationships with law enforcement. Under state law, sexual contact with a prisoner is a felony.