ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Sources told 9 Investigates' Shannon Butler that a female inmate claims she was sexually assaulted after corrections officers placed a male inmate in her Orange County Jail cell and walked away.
"This kind of allegation in the jail is serious. You're talking about someone who may have been victimized inside the jail. What do you say to that?" Butler said.
"You are correct. That is a serious allegation, and while I am chief of this Corrections (Department), I want to make sure that all of our staff members are taking the appropriate actions so something like this doesn't occur," Orange County Corrections Chief Louis Quiñones Jr. said.
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9 Investigates does not know why either inmate was arrested, but Quiñones said they remain jailed.
He said the allegation was made last week. He would not provide 9 Investigates with further details about the incident, but sources said corrections officers mistakenly put the inmates in the same cell.
No charges have been filed in the case, but the Orange County Sheriff's Office is investigating a possible crime.
9 Investigates does not know how the alleged incident was discovered, but supervisors launched an inquiry after being notified about the incident by corrections officers.
Watch raw footage of Shannon Butler's interview with the jail chief below:
Quiñones said he will not sweep the incident under the rug and will act immediately if policies were violated or if a crime was committed.
"I will take appropriate action to make sure that staff are fully trained and they are doing what they are supposed to do to prevent this from happening," he said. "It is a very serious incident, and I take it very (seriously)."
Officials said the jail has surveillance cameras.
They said the investigation will still take some time to complete, because criminal and internal investigations comprise so many factors.
The Sheriff's Office is now involved in the investigation because jail officials are not allowed to complete investigations on their own.
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