MAURY COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that a former Maury County corrections officer had been sentenced for obstructing a civil rights investigation tied to allegations of sexual abuse.
James Stewart Justice was indicted in May 2022 and charged with falsifying records related to allegations of nonconsensual sexual contact with a woman in his custody during his time at the Maury County Sheriff’s Office.
Court documents revealed Justice, formerly known as James Stewart Thomas, wrote a report for the Maury County Jail in response to the allegations. The DOJ said the report falsely claimed he had told two Maury County Jail supervisors that an inmate made sexual advances toward him while in his custody.
The report also falsified claims that two Maury County jail supervisors advised him not to write the report about those alleged advances; it also failed to include a claim he later made about having a sexual relationship with the inmate following her release from custody.
“Everyone who serves in law enforcement knows of their duty of candor,” assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights division, Kristen Clarke, said. “That duty of candor is at its highest when responding to serious allegations such as the sexual abuse of an inmate in the officer’s care. The Civil Rights Division will continue to vigorously prosecute officers who disregard that duty and obstruct federal civil rights investigations.”
Justice was sentenced to 60 months in prison and two years of supervised release, according to the DOJ.
In March, the DOJ announced Justice had been sentenced for obstruction of justice related to the same case. The FBI’s Nashville Field Office has investigated the case; special agent in charge Joe Carrico said this sentencing serves as a reminder that the FBI will vigorously investigate these types of cases.