Friday, October 01, 1999
Ex-jailer guilty of sexual battery on female inmate
Jury rejects insanity bid
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — A jury rejected the insanity defense of former Butler County Jail corrections officer Steven Cox and convicted him Thursday on three counts of sexual battery for having sex with a 22-year-old female inmate.
As he was led from the courtroom in handcuffs, Mr. Cox said: “I love you,” to his wife, Veronica, and kissed her.
“I don't know when I'll ever see you again,” he added.
The jury, which also acquitted Mr. Cox of one count of attempted sexual battery, reached its verdict after two hours of deliberation on the fourth day of the trial in Butler County Common Pleas.
After the verdict, Judge Michael Sage ordered Mr. Cox to be taken to the same jail where he had worked last year. The judge will sentence him and determine whether he is a sexual predator at a Nov. 3 hearing. Mr. Cox's possible sentence ranges from probation to five years in prison.
During the trial, two psychologists for the defense said Mr. Cox could not distinguish right from wrong when he had sex with the inmate; a psychiatrist and a psychologist for the prosecution said he did know.
“The jury has sent a clear message that the citizens of this community will not tolerate the corrections officers of the jail engaging in this type of conduct,” said John M. Holcomb, assistant prosecuting attorney.
The verdict also indicates that Butler County juries accept the insanity defense only in cases of the “most extreme mental illness,” he said.
Mr. Cox's attorney, Clayton Napier, declined comment.
Mr. Cox, 51, of Hamilton, was hired by the sheriff's department in July 1998.
The incidents occurred between Aug. 13 and Oct. 13 of last year. He resigned from his job on Oct. 14 after his superiors confronted him with the allegations.
Mr. Cox had sent the female inmate numerous cards and letters and placed $280 in her commissary account at the jail.
In closing arguments, Mr. Napier portrayed Mr. Cox, the father of three children, as an honest, religious, family-oriented man who was victimized by a conniving female inmate and by a manic-depressive disorder that prevented him from knowing right from wrong when he had sex with the female inmate.
The pressure of his job at the jail pushed him over the edge, Mr. Napier said.
Mr. Cox's profession of love for the female inmate was proof of his severely disturbed mental state, he said.
Mr. Holcomb said in his clos ing argument that Mr. Napier had presented a “sympathy defense,” not an insanity defense.
He told the jury it didn't matter whether the female inmate consented to the sexual acts. Sexual battery occurs when a person has sex with someone in their custody.
“Running the jail will be an impossible task,” he said to the jury, “if you fail to enforce the law in this case.”
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