A former Macon County Jail corrections officer was indicted by the Macon County Jury on five counts of official misconduct and one count of sexual contact with inmates on Mon., Apr. 2.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation presented the findings of a two-month investigation into allegations of misconduct by 32-year-old Adam Nash to a special session of the Grand Jury according to Macon County Sheriff Mark Gammons.

“On Jan. 30, I received some information from some female inmates that there might have been some inappropriate conduct by a correctional officer,” said Sheriff Gammons of what prompted the investigation into Nash’s alleged misconduct.

“After receiving this information, I myself conducted three interviews of three female inmates making allegations. I was advised that there had been inappropriate conduct by Adam Nash, a correctional officer at the Macon County Sheriff’s Office.

“After conducting these interviews, I found that the stories were consistent and it appeared something was going on with this matter so I contacted District Attorney General Tommy Thompson about the situation at the Macon County Jail and requested that an investigation be done by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the District Attorney’s office.”

Sheriff Gammons says he relieved himself from the investigation and requested that the matter be investigated to the fullest.

That same day, after speaking to Gen. Thompson, Sheriff Gammons says he advised Nash that he would be suspended without pay until the investigation was completed.

“That afternoon, TBI agents started to investigate the case,” he said.

“Adam Nash resigned a couple of weeks later from the Macon County Sheriff’s Office while the TBI was still conducting their investigation.”

According to a press release issued by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Wed., Apr. 4, Nash is alleged to have given female inmates privileges in exchange for them showing him their bare chests between June and December 2011. He is also alleged to have had sexual contact with a female inmate in Jan. 2012, according to the TBI press release.

“I would like to say that I take this matter seriously. My employees know that I take this matter seriously,” said Sheriff Gammons, who says the correctional officers receive monthly and yearly training on this topic.

“I will not tolerate this. That’s why I contacted General Thompson and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. It’s an embarrassment to myself and the good correctional officers who work here and take their jobs seriously.

“I hope this will never occur again; however, the employees of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office know the consequences of their actions if they get caught.”

Sheriff Gammons says he had never had any prior complaints against Nash, who had worked for the sheriff’s office since 1999.

“He was the only one who came from the old jail to the new jail,” he said.

Nash was arrested on Wed., April 4 and booked into the Macon County Jail. He has posted his $10,000 bond, according to his booking sheet.

He is scheduled to appear in Macon County Circuit Court on Tue., May 15.