Former Sheriff To Spend 7 Months In Jail In Misconduct Case

STERLING, Colo. (CBS4) - A former sheriff on Colorado's Eastern Plains will spend seven months in jail with work release for what a prosecutor called "abusing public trust."

Tom Hanna, 45, was the sheriff of Sedgwick County. He had been accused in 2016 of taking a developmentally disabled woman from his county's jail in Julesburg to his home in his personal truck and sexually assaulting her. Court documents stated that Hanna also offered the woman money to strip and told her it had to stay between them. The woman had been in jail on harassment and domestic violence charges.

In May a jury found him guilty of official misconduct but not guilty on other charges that included sexual assault on an at-risk person. They found that Hanna was guilty only of taking an inmate to his home in a personal vehicle.

"This defendant was a person of power and privilege who abused community trust," Senior Deputy District Attorney Danielle Jaramillo of the 18th Judicial District said in a prepared statement after Hanna's sentencing hearing in Logan County Court on Wednesday.

"This sentence is what the public deserves," Jaramillo said.

Last year Sedgwick County voters removed Hanna from office in a recall election. As a result of the conviction, Hanna lost his Colorado peace officer certification.

"No person, regardless of station in society, amount of wealth, or public position -- even an elected law enforcement officer, is above the law," said District Attorney George Brauchler.