Sedgwick County Sheriff Tom Hanna is due to appear in court Wednesday afternoon in Sterling, in the northeast corner of the state.
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The sheriff acknowledged making a mistake when he took her to his home, Huston said in the document. After digitally penetrating her, Hanna told the woman: “This has to stay between us”, according to the woman’s account to an investigator.
The investigation of Hanna was launched after one of his deputies, Larry Neugebauer, told authorities he saw the sheriff put the prisoner in his personal truck, a violation of department policy, and later saw the truck and a patrol vehicle parked outside Hanna’s home. His office plans to formally charge Hanna with sexual assault of an at-risk adult, sexual conduct with a correctional inmate, official misconduct and solicitation of prostitution.
“I really felt that it was best for the both the defendant and the public that a completely unbiased person or agency be the one that handles it.”
The investigator said Hanna denied the allegations and told investigators he was interviewing the inmate after she reported having information on her cellphone about a crime. She did not elaborate. After dropping the woman off at the Logan County jail, Hanna said he put $20 in her commissary because “he has a big heart and wanted to make sure (she) could call her brother”, the affidavit says.
The allegations came to the attention of prosecutors after a Sedgwick County deputy raised concerns about the sheriff’s interaction with the woman. According to KDVR, Deputy Larry Neugebauer got suspicious when he noticed that the 43-year-old sheriff showed up at the sheriff’s office to transport a female prisoner to the Logan County Jail in his personal vehicle – which is a violation of department code – saying that he was on his way to Denver and that the jail was on the way. He was arrested in full duty gear and went willingly, Hanna told the judge Wednesday. Cpl.
Dottie Woltemath, a victim advocate for the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, described the inmate as developmentally delayed, according to the affidavit. “He would be housed with a bunch of other inmates from Sedgwick that he arrested”. McBride says Logan County’s jail often hold inmates for Sedgwick, which has a very limited facility.
Hanna had been elected in November of 2014, when he received 728 votes from his constituents.
According to the affidavit, Hanna was transporting the woman from the town of Julesburg to a lockup in a neighboring county on August 10 when he took her to his house and asked if she wanted to earn $60.
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According to Lewton’s release, after Wednesday’s advisement she likely will seek to have a special prosecutor appointed for the remainder of Hanna’s case.
