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Smith County Sheriff confirms assault investigation underway

The Smith County Jail is under investigation after jail personnel allegedly sexually assaulted an inmate.

Smith County deputies are investigating claims that an inmate was sexually assaulted by jail personnel.

CBS19 spoke with relatives of the alleged victim who said they fear their loved one may be in danger.

The inmate, whose name we are not revealing because he is an alleged victim, was arrested for criminal mischief on Aug. 1.

One week later, he made an outcry to his girlfriend at visitation and said he was assaulted by jail personnel. She contacted CBS19 and we started investigating.

We reached out on August 10 multiple times by phone and email to the jail, sheriff’s office and Texas Rangers and received no response. On August 11, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith sent the following statement to CBS 19.

Investigation is ongoing. It appears at this time, no offense occurred. This will be the only release until the completion of the investigation.

Sheriff Smith would not elaborate on why he feels no offense happened.

CBS19 sat down with the alleged victim’s girlfriend and mother who we are keeping anonymous to protect their identify.

"He kept saying he wanted to talk to his mom because he was afraid of retaliation. He then went and told me he was being sexually abused by four guards,” said the inmate’s girlfriend.

His mother told CBS19 when she heard this, she immediately tried to reach her son. She called the jail, sheriff and the Texas Rangers and said information provided to her has been minimal. She has not been granted access to her son.

True or not, allegations like this are supposed to be handled by the Texas Rangers. CBS19 reached out several times today and received no confirmation on if they were contacted or if they were investigating.

There are lots of unanswered questions at this point, but CBS19 will follow this story and continue to update as new information is presented.

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