A Yazoo County correctional officer was once paid to oversee inmates at the local county jail. Last week, he found himself on the other side of those bars after he pleaded guilty to having sexual relations with a female inmate while he worked as a guard.
Christopher Hayes, 24, pleaded guilty to having sex with an inmate and conspiracy to have sex with an inmate in Yazoo County Circuit Court. Judge Barry Ford sentenced Harris to five years in a state correctional facility, with three years suspended, two years to serve. He will also be placed on three years of supervised probation upon his release.
Family members of the victim said they are not happy with what they considered a “slap on the wrist” for the former Yazoo County Regional Correctional Facility guard.
“He should not have been able to take a plea deal,” said Alice Boyanton, mother of the victim. “We should have been heading to trial next week. My daughter was raped, and they are getting away with this.”
The trial date for Hayes was set to begin today, Aug. 11, in Yazoo County Circuit Court.
Hayes and two other jail guards were accused of having sexual relations with two female inmates at the local county jail last year.
In January of 2020, Sgt. James Alexander was charged with three counts of sexual battery. Officers Christopher Hayes and Ohaje Brown were both charged with one count of sexual battery.
Brown also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to have sex with an inmate last April. Judge Barry Ford sentenced Brown to five years suspended upon his successful completion of five years of house arrest for time already served.
Natasha Brown, one of the victim’s sister-in-law, said she has been frustrated with the entire case since it first started last year. Her own mother, who very publicly demanded justice for her incarcerated daughter-in-law, has since died. And Brown said she is stepping in to be “a voice for justice” in her mother’s absence.
“Those three government officials at the county jail took an oath to do no harm to the people they were paid to supervise,” Brown said. “First of all, all three were released on about $3,000-$4,000 bond each. And Ohaje Brown gets five years of house arrest? He committed a crime, and he received a slap on the wrist. He should have much more than just house arrest. The victims did not ask to be violated that way.”
Brown said she also believes there are certain details of the case that are being hidden. She said two female jail guards were also involved with allowing the incidents to occur. She said those guards have never been charged within the investigation.
“Not only was my sister-in-law violated by the very people who took an oath, but she was also left with a sexually transmitted disease,” Brown continues. “My sister-in-law is serving her time, and I am well aware of why is incarcerated. But she did not deserve this. Both of the victims do not deserve what happened to them. They should be left to serve their time, not violated. They were forced to perform sexual acts. And they have a right for their voices to be heard. They have a voice, and they said ‘no.’”
Brown said two other inmates were also willing to give statements about the incidents.
“Two of those inmates have since died while in jail,” Brown said. “There is more to this than is being shared.”
The third officer, James Alexander, is scheduled to head to trial Aug. 18.
“Ohaje Brown’s sentencing needs to be reconsidered,” Brown said. “It was an offense. You can’t make or break the law as you go.”
Phone calls and emails sent to Judge Barry Ford were not returned as of press time.
