A Pulaski County jail deputy was arrested Monday on accusations that he sexually assaulted an inmate.
Micheal Collin Graff, 29, was charged with third-degree sexual assault. According to Arkansas State Police and the Pulaski County sheriff's office, Graff was arrested at the Arkansas Department of Correction McPherson Unit in Newport after transporting a 26-year-old female inmate to the prison.
The woman reportedly told prison officials that Graff had sexually assaulted her just south of Searcy, about halfway through the trip from the Pulaski County jail. Further details were not released.
State police spokesman Bill Sadler said an investigation is ongoing.
The sheriff's office said in statement Tuesday that Graff, who was hired by the agency in October 2014, had been fired. A termination letter, released under the state's Freedom of Information Act, states that Graff was fired on grounds that he'd violated two of the sheriff's office's standards of conduct: affirmatively promoting a positive public image of the agency and knowing and obeying its policies and procedures.
"Allegations of this nature are taken very seriously and investigated expeditiously to insure the safety of the inmates," the sheriff's office said in the statement.
An examination of Graff's employment records under the state's public records law found he had no prior disciplinary history at the sheriff's office. Court records show Graff has no previous criminal history.
Third-degree sexual assault is defined, in part, under Arkansas law as "sexual intercourse or deviate sexual activity" involving a state employee who is "providing services, supplies, or supervision to an agency maintaining custody of inmates, detainees, or juveniles, and the victim is in the custody of the Department of Correction, Department of Community Correction, Department of Human Services, or any city or county jail."
The offense is a Class C felony, punishable by a prison sentence of three to 10 years and a fine of up to $10,000.
Graff was being held in the White County jail late Tuesday.
Metro on 07/13/2016