Former Indiana Jailer Walks from Charges Over “Night of Terror”
On February 14, 2025, an Indiana judge dismissed charges against a former guard at the Clark County Jail who was accused of selling keys to male detainees who then unlocked cells holding female detainees and raped them. The county had previously paid $328,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the victims. But Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy T. Mull (R) said that the evidence left him “less than certain” that former guard David Lowe committed a crime.
As PLN reported, Lowe was accused of accepting $1,000 in October 2021 to allow Jordan Sykes and fellow male detainees access to cells holding women, whom they proceeded to hunt down and sexually assault for hours until one managed to summon help; Lowe was fired and charged, along with Sykes, and the County eventually made the payout to 25 women who filed suit over the assaults that they endured. [See: PLN, Oct. 2024, p.52.]
It was unclear what Mull found so unconvincing about the evidence and why it took so long to make that determination. Also unclear was the status of charges against Sykes. Meanwhile, former Sheriff Jamey Noel, on whose watch the assaults occurred, was sentenced in October 2024 to 12 years in state prison, after pleading guilty to unrelated embezzlement charges. The disgraced former sheriff also agreed to repay $3.1 million in public funds that he swiped, plus a $270,000 fine—$10,000 for each charge to which he admitted guilt. He still faces two civil suits filed by state Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) seeking to recover additional embezzled funds.
Source: Indiana Capital Chronicle, WDRB
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