Mississippi Deputies Accused Of Sexual Assault In Civil Rights Probe
Deputies at the Sheriff's Department in Mississippi who are currently under investigation for civil rights violations after allegedly firing a gun in the mouth of Michael Corey Jenkins are now facing new allegations according to reports.
Malik Shabazz, Jenkins’attorney, sent a letter addressed to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department demanding that the deputies face civil rights charges because of their “unconstitutional customs and practices” and “pattern and practice of police misconduct and police brutality.”
“This extreme case of police brutality warrants enforcement of the civil rights criminal laws on the books,” Shabazz said in a statement. “Sheriff Bryan Bailey and Rankin County are covering up the truth of what happened on Jan. 24, and all parties must be held accountable.”
Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker also accuse the deputies of assaulting them with a sex toy at an interrogation, the Associated Press reports.
In January 2023, Jenkins and Parker claimed that six deputies used stun guns for over 90 minutes and made them lie on their backs while they poured milk over their faces. The deputies raided the residence without a warrant.
Jenkins and Parker also testified to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation that the deputies forced them to strip naked, take a shower together, and then attempted to use a sex toy on both of them.
Eventually, Jenkins was charged with possessing between 2 and 10 grams of methamphetamine and aggravated assault on a police officer. Parker was also charged with two misdemeanors, possession of paraphernalia and disorderly conduct.
In the aftermath of the incident, “No deputy has been disciplined or terminated by Rankin County and all the deputies are still roaming the public at large,” Shabazz said.
The Rankin County Sheriff’s Office has not disclosed if any of the deputies faced any disciplinary action for the alleged incident.
“Rest assured, if any deputy or suspect involved in this incident is found to have broken the law, he will be held accountable,” Sheriff Bryan Bailey of Rankin County said in a statement at the time.
Shabazz also stated that an investigation into the Sheriff’s Office in Rankin County would coincide with the Justice Department’s previous probes of police departments in the cases of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky., and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.