Document exposes jail sex scandal

SANDPOINT — The wraps covering a sex scandal at the Bonner County Jail are coming off.

Documents show former detention Deputy Brandon Myrel Williams became the subject of employment termination proceedings because of misconduct with three former jail inmates between December 2012 and July 2013.

“You had sexual intercourse with one of the females while you were on duty and maintained a relationship with all three after they were released from jail,” Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler said in the three-page notice, which dates back to August 2013.

The notice informs Williams that his conduct exposed him to discipline, including being fired. It also lists the internal investigative reports, emails and interviews which Wheeler said influenced his decision to initiate termination proceedings.

The notice cites four county employee policy violations including engaging in sexual activity while on duty, engaging in unbecoming conduct while on- and off-duty, failing to guard against a conflict of interest and forming personal relationships with those who are going through or have already been through the justice system.

Unstated in the notice is that Williams’ alleged misconduct can be prosecuted as a felony that falls under the category of rape, according to Idaho Code.

“Any person found guilty of sexual contact with a prisoner is punishable by imprisonment in a state prison for a term not to exceed life,” reads the code, which applies to officers and agents working in correctional facilities.

Williams expressly acknowledged the seriousness of that particular offense on an employment form dating back to June 2010.

Williams was not the subject of a criminal investigation.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall said his office was not asked to review the allegations against Williams.

“No investigation on Brandon Williams was ever forwarded to my office for review,” Marshall said.

Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler released the following statement on Wednesday:

“There was no criminal investigation. Idaho Code 74-106 prohibits me from discussing or disclosing personnel records of current or former employees.”

Wheeler added that there was no criminal investigation because the code section did not apply to Williams’ misconduct.

The termination notice identifies one woman who was interviewed by investigators. The surnames of three other people are also listed.

A reference to Williams’ alleged misconduct is buried deep within a 2013 criminal case against a Sagle woman facing methamphetamine possession charges. The 25-year-old woman’s father wrote a letter to 1st District Judge Barbara Buchanan seeking leniency for his daughter. He blamed his daughter’s drug problems on the “terrible” friends she associated with.

The man told Buchanan that one of his daughter’s associates convinced her to become a confidential informant in order “to relieve a deputy of (his) duties as he was preying on female inmates after their release,” the man said in a printed portion of the letter. In a handwritten addendum, the man said he turned over to sheriff’s officials a digital memory card containing evidence which demonstrated that Williams was “dating” his daughter.

“Some of the photos were very personal, however she gave them up to rectify a bad situation,” the father wrote.

Williams was the defendant in a contentious divorce action that began in 2012 and was set to be tried last May, according to the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository. An agreement was reached two days before the trial was to commence.

There were voluminous filings in the case, although it’s not clear if Williams’ alleged misconduct is referenced in those records.

The case file is sealed from public view because the proceedings involved minor children, according to deputy clerks at the Bonner County Courthouse. The woman’s legal counsel, Sandpoint attorney Todd Reed, declined to comment on Wednesday.

Efforts to reach Williams, 35, through his attorney in the divorce case were unsuccessful on Wednesday.

Bonner County Human Resource Director Cindy Binkerd said Williams was employed with the county from October 2008 to August 2013.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.