A former Gwinnett County Detention Center inmate has filed a lawsuit alleging he was sexually, physically and psychologically abused behind bars.
The suit names Dennis Day, a former Gwinnett County sheriff's deputy who was charged with "inappropriately touching" multiple inmates in 2015, as the alleged perpetrator of the abuse. Day entered a negotiated plea in December 2016, agreeing to serve 16 months of confinement and five years of probation.
Day "sexually abused, sodomized and mistreated” the plaintiff, the suit says. The AJC is not identifying the plaintiff because he is an alleged victim of sexual abuse.
Dennis Day, listed on jail logs as a Decatur resident, was a “probationary employee” with the sheriff’s office and had worked with the department for less than a year when he was fired and charged, spokeswoman Deputy Shannon Volkodav said. Criminal charges were filed against Day after an inmate reported his alleged misconduct through a jail tip line.
The lawsuit, filed this week, also names the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department, Gwinnett County Detention Center and the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners as defendants. The suit charges the jail and the sheriff’s office with failing to properly train Day, leading to the alleged abuse.
The plaintiff is seeking “at least” $1 million in damages from the county, jail, sheriff’s office and Day, the suit says.
The sheriff’s office cannot comment on pending litigation, according to Deputy Shannon Volkodav. Gwinnett County also does not comment on pending litigation, spokesman Joe Sorenson said.
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