Deputy who works inside Harris Co. jail speaks to FOX 26 following recent inmate assault on deputy

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A deputy who works inside the Harris County Jail is speaking out after the horrific sexual assault of a female deputy by an inmate on Monday.

That veteran female Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy was said to be beaten and violently sexually assaulted inside her office at the Baker Street Jail, tortured for nearly 15 minutes.

BACKGROUND: HCSO investigating report of female sergeant being sexually assaulted by county jail inmate

The deputy FOX 26 spoke with says they don’t have any confidence that this won’t happen again to someone else. 

"The female officers, doctors, nurses, we’re all outnumbered and it’s just not safe and we’re not protected," says the deputy whose identity we are concealing.

The veteran female Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy who spoke with FOX 26 says the brutal physical and sexual assault of one of her colleagues just a day earlier at the Harris County Jail has left her and most of the workers at the jail "Heartbroken, disgusted, afraid." 

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Afraid because the inmate now charged with savagely sexually assaulting and beating that deputy, Jeremiah Williams, was wearing a purple wristband signifying he was to be escorted by a deputy at all times. Instead, he was said to be left wandering alone and investigators say he went into the deputy’s office and attacked her for 13 minutes. 

"He’s an animal. This is inhumane the things he did," says Smokie Phillips, President of the Afro-American Sheriff’s Deputy’s League who says he’s been getting calls non-stop from frightened female deputies. "It’s my understanding there are more female employees working in the jail than there are male employees at some times. A lot of female employees are concerned about their safety".

"And I’m not trying to be unsympathetic. We don’t violate people’s civil rights but they are in jail and the inmates are more protected than the employees. This shook us all to our core. We need help and we’re not being heard," says the deputy who spoke anonymously. 

RELATED: Top leaders who oversee Harris Co. Jail take 4-day cruise together, bans other staff from taking time off

She also says from a staffing shortage to several other issues, there seems to be mounting problems in the jail. 

"The employees of Harris County have been concerned about their safety for years. It’s a mountain of issues, weapons, drugs, cigarettes, contraband of all sorts to include cell phones. It’s everything," she says.

"This is horrendous. This is, I really have no words for it, because I really never heard of this happening where a female employee is beaten, savagely beaten, and then sexually assaulted. We need to wrap our arms in prayer for this lady and make sure she survives this because she may not even survive this mentally. This has sent fear through all the ladies that work the jail in Harris County. I’m really sad today about this, because like I say in all of my 36 years in law enforcement, I’ve never heard of this," says Phillips.

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The man now charged with the crime was already in jail for sexual assault and has a criminal history of mostly theft dating back to 2015. 

"I can’t say what I want to say, but I will say I hope justice serves him well. I really do hope justice serves him well because she did not deserve this," adds Phillips.

Williams is expected in court on Wednesday morning.