CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A fired Kanawha County sheriff’s deputy has been indicted by a federal grand jury over alleged sexual misconduct against an inmate.
Cass Close, 56, of Charleston, was indicted Wednesday on one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. Close reportedly sexually assaulted a female inmate at the Kanawha County Judicial Building in July 2025. He was working as a court bailiff at the time.
Close initially faced state charges, but those were dropped earlier this month when the FBI filed criminal charges. Kanawha County Prosecutor Debra Rusnak told MetroNews that the state stepped aside because a federal conviction would bring more prison time.
If Close is convicted, he would face a maximum penalty of a lifetime in prison. He’s already been in custody for more than a year.
Close contested his detention hearing several weeks ago, with his lawyer Rachel Zimarowski asking U.S. Magistrate Judge Dwane Tinsley to permit Close to live with his daughter, Cassie Close, in South Carolina during the federal investigation. Tinsley denied that request.
Prosecutor Jennifer Herrald, from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern West Virginia, said during the detention hearing August 7 that three additional victims have been mentioned in a civil case against Close.
However, the federal indictment hinges on one particular case.
During the August 7 hearing, Herrald said that the female inmate was detained on the seventh floor of the Kanawha County Judicial Building on the day of the reported misconduct by Close. According to Herrald, the inmate was taken from her cell multiple times throughout the course of that day by Close into his office. Close is accused of forcing the inmate to engage in sex acts and allegedly took images of the inmate’s private area. Herrald said the inmate was in ankle shackles the entire time.
The inmate disclosed the acts to her lawyer “almost immediately” after it happened, Herrald reported. She went on to say that Close confessed that the sex acts had occurred. The reported assault included Close pushing the inmate’s head against a wall, where her hair apparently caught on a box. Herrald said that investigators found hair in that box later that matched the inmate.
Herrald said Close committed a “blatant and egregious offense by a sworn law enforcement officer.” She said that it was Close’s job to protect the inmate as a court bailiff and he breached that responsibility. Herrald said that federal law enforcement has met with two of the three other alleged victims, which underscored that this was not an isolated incident.
Close will be arraigned in federal court in the coming weeks. He remains incarcerated at the Carter County, Ky. Detention Center.