Ex-Columbus deputy accused of sex with inmate pleads guilty to lesser charge — again

A former Muscogee County sheriff’s deputy accused of having sex with a jail inmate and photographing her genitals with his cell phone has pleaded guilty to violating his oath as a law enforcement officer.

Twice.

Marcus Wayne Kennedy previously negotiated a guilty plea that dropped two counts of sexual assault on a person in custody, leaving only the violation of oath charge. He pleaded on Sept. 24, 2018, when Judge Gil McBride sentenced him to five years’ probation.

But as part of that plea agreement, Kennedy was assured he would not have to register as a sex offender, and later learned that wasn’t true: Under the law, he did have to register.

So, through defense attorney Stacey Jackson, Kennedy withdrew his guilty plea and renegotiated.

The prosecutor who made the original deal left the district attorney’s office, so the case was reassigned to Assistant District Attorney Robin King. She decided to honor the terms agreed upon earlier, with one addition: Kennedy would have to agree to have no contact with the victim, who since has been released from jail.

Kennedy agreed, and pleaded guilty again Wednesday. Judge McBride allowed Kennedy’s five years of probation to begin when he first pleaded guilty last year. He was ordered to stay at least 300 yards away from the victim, should they ever be in the same area.

He was ordered also to pay a $250 fine, to perform 100 hours of community service, to get a sex offender evaluation and to never seek nor hold public office again.

Kennedy, 46, was arrested on Jan. 26, 2016, about two weeks after the inmate reported the incidents, and fired from the job he’d held for four years.

He initially was accused of receiving oral sex and of having intercourse with the woman while he was monitoring the jail’s laundry room, where the woman was on detail.

Those allegations were the basis for his charges of sexual assault on a person in custody. He was charged with violating his oath based both on those accusations and on his having lewd photos of the woman on his phone, according to his Oct. 18, 2016, indictment.

The indictment cited no specific date for the offenses, saying they occurred between Oct. 1, 2015, and Jan. 1, 2016. He was arrested after the woman, who was 37 at the time, reported the sex acts.

Georgia’s law on sexually assaulting a person in custody prohibits certain professionals from having “sexual contact” with anyone under their authority, as the victim may feel powerless to refuse. The law specifically states the victim’s consent is no defense.

The code section applies not only to law enforcement and correctional officers, but to parole supervisors, teachers, school administrators, and psychotherapists, and to healthcare workers in hospitals and assisted living facilities.

Anyone convicted can face one to 25 years in prison and a fine up to $100,000.