Oakland County Deputy Accused of Having Sexual Relations With Inmate

An Oakland County Sheriff's deputy from Rochester Hills has been charged with three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving an Oakland County Jail inmate, according to the department.  

Garry Donnell Jackson, 52, of Rochester Hills, was assigned as a corrections officer in the jail and has been with the department since 1997, the department indicated. 

According to the department, on Sept. 2, a woman lodged at the Oakland County Jail informed a deputy that other inmates are saying that Jackson and another inmate were involved in an intimate relationship. The department soon began a criminal investigation and a separate internal investigation and suspended Jackson, the department indicated. 

The inmate, as well as fellow inmates in her housing unit were interviewed by the Sheriff’s Special Investigations Unit, the department indicated, and the investigation revealed the acts were consensual but under Michigan law and department regulations the acts are criminal as an inmate cannot give consent.

A warrant request was presented to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office last week. Jackson was arraigned Monday by Judge Michael C. Martinez and received a $5,000 personal bond and was ordered to have no contact with the inmate, the department indicated.

If convicted, second-degree criminal sexual conduct is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The inmate, whose identity is being withheld, is a 24-year-old woman who has been lodge at the Oakland County Jail since May 17 on a second-degree retail fraud charge and a subsequent probation violation charge, the department indicated. She is currently sentenced on both charges with a Nov. 5 release date. 

In a statement, the department condemned Jackson's alleged actions.

"The Sheriff’s Office abhors this conduct and has started the process to terminate Jackson," the department stated. "Jackson has brought dishonor to the badge and violated public trust."