Ex-jail deputy pleads guilty to sexual misconduct

A former Clark County corrections deputy pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually assaulting two women detained at the Clark County Jail in 2017.

Christopher A. North, 31, pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to second-degree custodial sexual misconduct, voyeurism and indecent exposure. He also entered an “in re Barr” plea to indecent liberties. An “in re Barr” plea allows a defendant to plead guilty to a lesser related charge he didn’t commit in order to avoid conviction for a greater offense.

According to a probable cause affidavit, in March 2017, North led a woman — who was going through the jail to be transferred elsewhere — to a private room, where she could change. There, he instructed her to change into her personal clothing. While she was undressing, he opened the door, prompting her to put her top back on.

Later, when she was placed in a cell with windows facing the property room, North stood in the doorway to the property room, exposed himself and began masturbating while looking at the woman, according to court records.

Then, in July 2017, North brought another female inmate to a private space in the jail, where he instructed her to change. According to court records, he went to an adjacent room and watched her undress before re-entering. North told her she’d be held in the changing room for a time, while waiting for transportation. The woman was locked in the room for about two hours, according to court documents.

As she waited, they began speaking, and at one point, North entered the changing room and began masturbating. He approached the woman and pressed his body against her, according to court records, and she was unable to escape his grasp while he masturbated on her.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor James Smith said Thursday that the ejaculate recovered from the woman’s clothes matched North’s DNA.

North is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 11, following the completion of a pre-sentencing investigation.