Corrections officer sexually assaulted man and got him hooked on drugs, lawsuit says

An Indiana man is suing after he says he was sexually assaulted by a community corrections officer.

On Jan. 10, 2018, the man reported to Jason Bertram, the deputy director of Henry County Community Corrections, to be fitted for an ankle monitor and to provide a urine drug test after a probation violation, according to a federal lawsuit filed May 5.

The man was supposed to bring $350 with him, but he didn’t have the entire amount, the lawsuit said. While providing a urine sample, Bertram was required to watch. Afterwards, in Bertram’s office, Bertram told the man he “should have been in porn,” according to the lawsuit.

Bertram then asked to see the man’s genitals, according to the lawsuit. The man initially told Bertram no. The man expressed he didn’t understand what was going on, but that he knew his urine would test positive for cocaine, the lawsuit said.

“Bertram threw (the man’s) urine sample in the garbage can by his desk and told (the man) that he did not need to worry about it. (The man) believed that Bertram indicated to him that he would keep him out of jail if (he) would show (Bertram) his penis,” the lawsuit said.

The man eventually agreed and Bertram then asked the man to perform sexual acts, the attorney representing the man said in the lawsuit. Bertram also told the man he did not need to worry about the ankle monitor, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit said Bertram then took photos of the man’s genitals on his cell phone before the man left.

The man saw Bertram two more times during his probation, at which time he says Bertram gave him methamphetamine, which he said he had not used in the past.

“By the fall of 2018, (the man) was experiencing severe emotional distress because of what Bertram had put him through. (The man) was later incarcerated in Henry County for other offenses. Bertram would have (him) segregated inside the Henry County Jail. Bertram would put (the man) in areas with less surveillance or outright blind spots to obtain access to (him),” the lawsuit said.

The man contacted law enforcement about what had transpired and submitted a polygraph test, but said nothing was done, according to the lawsuit. He was eventually released from jail, but later arrested again on charges related to his meth addiction, which he said started after Bertram provided him with drugs.

The man went on to report the abuse to multiple law enforcement officials, who are listed as defendants in the lawsuit, but said they “willfully and/or recklessly failed to stop Bertram from abusing (the man) and other incarcerated people.”

The defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on May 6.

On Jan. 11, 2023, Bertram was criminally charged in connection to the abuse allegations against the man, as well as three other men, court records said. Six days later, on Jan. 17, Bertram died by suicide.

The lawsuit said as a result of law enforcement officials disregard for the man’s reports of sexual abuse, the man continues to suffer.

The lawsuit is asking for an undetermined amount in damages.

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