Corrections officer charged with assaults03/13/2009
MILWAUKEE -- An officer at the Milwaukee County House of Corrections has been charged with sexually assaulting two female prisoners in their cells.
The complaint filed Thursday in Circuit Court charges 28-year-old James Howard with two counts of second-degree sexual assault of an inmate by a correctional officer and two counts of third-degree sexual assault.
The inmates told authorities that the assaults happened last Saturday. In both cases, they alleged the officer first approached the cell and slid a suggestive note under the door, then returned a short time later and committed the assault.
Both women are being held while awaiting trial.
A preliminary hearing for Howard is scheduled next Thursday.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
