Authorities have arrested another Georgia Department of Corrections employee for allegedly sexually assaulting an inmate at Lee Arrendale State Prison.
Tyler Hall was employed as a Food Service Supervisor at the prison in Alto when authorities arrested him on May 21. Officials charged him with three counts of sexual assault against a person in custody. The prison fired him the same day, according to GDC Public Affairs Manager Lori Benoit.
The 24-year-old Cleveland man is accused of “knowingly and willfully” engaging in sexual contact with three different inmates over whom he had supervisory or disciplinary authority. The alleged encounters occurred between May 1 and May 19 in the B-Unit kitchen area of the prison. That’s where several other similar alleged incidents are said to have occurred.
Including Hall, authorities have now charged three employees from Lee Arrendale State Prison and one employee from Lee Arrendale Transitional Center with sexually assaulting inmates this year. All of them were arrested in separate incidents. The arrest warrants do not outline details of the alleged assault. Consent is not a defense under Georgia Law.
“The GDC has a zero-tolerance policy against sexual assault of offenders in our custody, and we seek prosecution to the fullest extent of the law on individuals who chose to violate their oath,” says Benoit.
The other accused former officers include Christopher Dionte Mayfield, 29, and Destiny Paige Wilhite, 24, both of Toccoa. Mayfield held a non-security job at the prison while Wilhite worked at the transitional center. Former prison food service supervisor Christopher Wood, 46, of Hiawassee, also was arrested and charged with sexual assault against a person in custody. GDC fired all three.
