ST. LOUIS  •  A former ºüÀêÊÓƵ jail guard was found guilty Thursday of having sex with a female inmate inside the justice center in 2009.
Tony West, 36, of the 5300 block of ºüÀêÊÓƵ Avenue, went on trial Tuesday on a charge of sexual contact with a prisoner, a felony. The jury returned its verdict Thursday and recommended a 3½-year sentence for West. A judge sent West to the ºüÀêÊÓƵ County jail to await sentencing on Dec. 13.
West did not testify in court and declined a reporter’s request for an interview.
Assistant Circuit Attorney Natalie Warner said in closing arguments Thursday that West’s case was “just the tip of the iceberg†of problems at the jail, adding that other jail workers should lose their jobs.
“We’re going to start cleaning up at the justice center,†she told the jury.
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Warner would not elaborate on the statements after the trial when asked by a reporter.
The inmate, 29, was jailed in ºüÀêÊÓƵ on a bad check charge on Jan. 9, 2009. She accused West of using his authority to pressure her into sex in a second-floor janitor’s closet after he told her he could make her charges go away.
“He was over me and I felt like there was nothing I could do,†the woman testified Thursday. “I was scared.â€
The woman reported the incident to Cape Girardeau authorities the same day she was transferred to a jail there in a different case.
The Post-Dispatch does not identify victims in sex crime cases.
DNA for West and at least four others was found on rubber gloves left inside the janitor’s closet but a scientist testified that tests could not determine if semen was its source. West’s lawyer, John Washington, argued that because of that, the evidence failed to prove West and the woman had sex.
In his closing, Washington cited the victim’s testimony that she was angry about being teased at the jail and suggested she was after money. He said the victim shouldn’t be trusted because of bad check charges in Illinois, ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Cape Girardeau and because she wouldn’t come to a police lineup without a lawyer.
“Her scam was revenge,†Washington said. “Then it went to greed. You can’t trust her.â€
Warner pointed out that the victim hasn’t filed a civil suit, and said the jury’s job was simply to decide whether they had had sex. If they had, then a crime was committed.
She also took aim at the justice center.
“The culture over there is just disgusting,†she said. “This was fun over at the justice center. They played with people for fun.â€
On Wednesday, a former jail supervisor, Christopher Hatcher, testified that he was fired because he knew West and the woman had had sexual contact and didn’t report it. He then said he lied to cover up for West because he didn’t want to be seen as a snitch.
“It’s invaded our system,†Warner said of the no-snitching code common in the criminal world.
Eddie Roth, the city’s director of public safety, said in emails Thursday the city is “making strides in promoting a culture of zero tolerance†at the jail, citing increasing funding toward supervisory staff and the appointment of a new jail commissioner, Dale Glass.
After the verdict, Washington told the jury West is a good man and asked them to show leniency in a sentence. He called to the stand relatives who praised West, including his wife, Angela West, who testified her husband was a good father and provider for the family.
She also testified that she used to work at the jail. She said she and West sometimes had sex in the same jail closet at the center of the case and elsewhere inside the jail.
After the jury’s sentencing recommendation, Angela West yelled at the prosecutor in court. She and her children were escorted out of the courtroom.
After the trial, Angela West said she believes her husband is innocent. She said she thinks the jury considered only the woman’s testimony and not the DNA evidence.
In March 2011, West pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual contact with a prisoner in the case in exchange for a sentence of three years’ probation. But West later withdrew that plea, saying prosecutors incorrectly led him to believe he wouldn’t have to register as a sex offender if he pleaded guilty.