Mississippi Sheriff Terry Grassaree Accused by Inmates of Physical Abuse, Rape Cover-Up in Report

A former Mississippi county sheriff indicted on federal bribery charges last year lorded over a rural jail with impunity for nearly two decades, with accusations that he physically abused inmates and repeatedly ignored instances of sexual abuse piling up, according to a new report from The New York Times. Four people gave sworn statements against Terry Grassaree, accusing him of violence as part of a 2005 lawsuit that petered out in a settlement. One man said Grassaree, then the Noxubee County sheriff, choked him with his nightstick and threatened him, “I’ll shoot you in the head! I’m the Big Dog! I’m Number One! This my jail!” Another person, a 19-year-old woman, said Grassaree hit her and threw her against a wall, then “spread [her] legs apart” and told her that he ought to let a male inmate rape her. More than a decade later, in another settled suit, a different female inmate said two deputies coerced her into sex and Grassaree, instead of intervening, then demanded sexually explicit photos from her. In total, according to the Times, eight men—including four deputies and Grassaree himself—were accused of sexual abuse by female inmates during Grassaree’s tenure.

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