Man charged with sexual abuse of an inmate in police custody at Mahoning County Jail
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice stated that a federal grand jury sitting in Cleveland, Ohio, returned an indictment charging an Ohio man for sexual abuse of a person being held in police custody.
According to the indictment, Damon K. Perry, 52, of Youngstown, sexually abused a female inmate under federal detention at the Mahoning County Jail on two dates in November 2023.
The correctional facility, located in Youngstown, Ohio, serves under contract with a federal law enforcement agency to house detainees at their direction as needed.
The first incident allegedly occurred when the inmate was under Perry’s charge and supervision as she was being held in custody on Nov. 9, 2023, according to the department.
Court documents indicate that the investigation also found a second incident on Nov. 30, 2023, when Perry again engaged in a non-consensual sexual act with the same federal detainee placed under his authority.
“A prison sentence should never include sexual abuse, and certainly not sexual abuse committed by someone to whom we have entrusted a prisoner’s care and custody,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “Correction officers have significant power over the inmates they supervise—they are to use their authority to keep prisoners safe, not abuse it and violate a prisoner’s basic rights.”
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General and being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Joyce and Yasmine Makridis for the Northern District of Ohio.