Search warrants: Lee County jailer forced woman prisoner to perform oral sex

Investigators say a Lee County jailer charged with sexually assaulting a female prisoner he was transporting to Raleigh used the woman’s cellphone to take pictures of her exposed breasts and forced her to perform oral sex, according to search warrants made public Monday.

Police in September charged David Adams Jr., 55, with one felony count each of second-degree sex offense and a sex offense involving someone having custody of a victim.

The alleged assault occurred Sept. 16 while Adams was driving the woman from the Lee County jail to the N.C. Correctional Institute for Women in Raleigh, according to the search warrant applications filed by Raleigh detective J.A. Silvious. The woman told authorities that she knew Adams because he had transported her in the past and because “he had his name on his shirt,” Silvious wrote in the search warrants.

The woman reported that Adams was driving a Dodge Charger with the words “Transportation Officer” emblazoned on the side and the rear of the car, according to the warrants.

The woman told police that she was sitting in the front seat of the car as Adams drove a male prisoner seated in the back to the detention center in Alamance County, Silvious wrote. While en route, the woman said Adams told her to “turn on her cell phone and show him any nude pictures of her on the phone,” Silvious wrote.

The woman told police she was still in the front seat with her hands handcuffed in front of her as they proceeded to the women’s prison on Bragg Street in Raleigh. As they came upon stopped traffic on Interstate 85, Silvious wrote, “Adams then used one hand to pull the victim’s shirt and expose her breasts.

“Once her breasts were exposed, she watched him take photos of her breasts with her own cell phone,” Silvious wrote. The woman said she told Adams to stop and tried to pull away but was unsuccessful.

The woman told police that once traffic started moving again, the jailer stopped taking pictures. But she thinks he then entered his phone number into her phone and sent the pictures to his phone, court records show.

The woman said she saw a street sign that read “T.W. Alexander Dr.” Within minutes, the woman said, Adams undid his trousers and forced her head down to his lap to perform oral sex on him. She said she tried to pull away but without success. The woman told police this continued for “several minutes” before he let go of her head, court records show.

The woman reported what happened after she arrived at the women’s prison. Authorities collected evidence using a rape kit, court records show.

In addition to data from the jailer’s phones, investigators obtained a DNA swab from Adams at his home in Sanford. They also recovered a mobile phone, T-shirt, black shoes and silver bracelet from the car he drove to transport the woman. Search warrants indicated the woman’s phone is missing.

Adams was arrested in Lee County on Sept. 19 and transported to the Wake County jail. He was released two days later after posting a $250,000 bond. His next court date is Jan. 11, a jail spokesman reported Monday.

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Search warrants: Lee County jailer forced woman prisoner to perform oral sex."