Inmate Says There Was No Hanky-Panky With Deputy

Kootenai County Jail officials are investigating an accusation of sexual misconduct between a female inmate and a sheriff’s deputy, the inmate said.

Inmate Shelly Fagerlie denies that she and the jail deputy had sexual relations. The incident in question occurred while she was at Kootenai Medical Center and was reported inaccurately by a nurse, Fagerlie said.

“I feel really bad for him. He didn’t do anything,” said Fagerlie, who was convicted of grand theft. “It’s turned into a real ugly thing.”

Kootenai County Sheriff’s officials declined to discuss details of the case but confirmed the department is investigating an incident at the hospital.

“We are conducting a personnel investigation of a department member,” said Capt. Karl Thompson, jail commander. The Idaho Bureau of Investigations also will investigate, he said.

Fagerlie, 32, was sentenced to at least two years in prison after she tried to buy a car with a check that had no funds to back it, according to court records. During her sentencing hearing an ex-husband described her as a con artist, said Henry Madsen, Kootenai County deputy prosecutor.

Fagerlie said she was taken to Kootenai Medical Center in early March after her finger became severely infected from a splinter.

She said that the deputy had guarded her room on several occasions.

On Sunday, after Fagerlie showered, the guard asked her to return the safety razor she had used, she said. While looking for the razor, both of them were in the bathroom at the same time. The nurse knocked on the door asking where the deputy was, Fagerlie said.

“I heard her say, ‘Oh, in the shower. I don’t think so,”’ Fagerlie said.

Fagerlie said she was dressed in a hospital gown and the deputy was fully clothed. A short time after the nurse left, the deputy was relieved of duty, Fagerlie said.

“There was an event the nurse reported to the sheriff’s department,” said Michael J. Regan, hospital spokesman. He declined other comment because the case is under investigation.

Since Sunday, Fagerlie said she has returned to the jail and has been interviewed several times.

“If I was trying to get something out of it my best bet would be to say he forced me into the bathroom and he did this and he did that. But that’s just not the case.” Fagerlie said. “I just feel like I have to do something to help him because he didn’t do anything. This is his whole career, his whole life.”