Wesley HollandA Walker County, Ga., deputy is facing charges of sexual assault after a woman said she performed oral sex on him while in custody.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Greg Ramey said that Wesley Holland, a court services deputy, was supposed to be driving the woman on April 30 from Fort Oglethorpe to Dunwoody, Ga., for reasons that can't be disclosed due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. But, Ramey said, Holland stopped the car in Gordon County during the trip.
The woman later told Dunwoody police that she performed oral sex on Holland. The police told Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson on May 5, and Wilson told the GBI.
Ramey said investigators made the arrest based on statements from the woman and from Holland. In addition to a charge of sexual assault by a person in authority, the GBI charged him with sodomy and violation of oath. On Wednesday, the sheriff's office fired Holland. On Thursday, the GBI booked him in the Gordon County Jail.
Wilson said investigators do not consider whether victims consented to the sexual acts when they have sexual contact with officers who are overseeing them.
"They [aren't able to] consent, basically," Wilson said.
The sheriff said Holland has served with the department since December 2014. He has been in court services the entire time.
"I don't' know of any [prior discipline]," Wilson said. "He normally just did his job and did a good job. It was a shock."
Wilson said a Walker County jail officer got arrested about 15 years ago. But in his two decades as a sheriff, Wilson could not recall one of his certified officers getting arrested.
Holland was released from the Gordon County Jail on Friday.
A prosecutor will decide whether to present the case to a grand jury.
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6476.