Former Whatcom County corrections deputy sentenced for intimate relationship with inmate
The former Whatcom County corrections deputy accused of having an intimate relationship with a woman while she was incarcerated in the Whatcom County Jail has been sentenced to 90 days in jail.
Adam Garrett Miller, 38, of Blaine, pleaded guilty in Whatcom County Superior Court on Feb. 25 to two counts of second-degree custodial sexual misconduct, a gross misdemeanor. His sentence allows him the ability to serve his time on electronic home monitoring, according to court records.
Miller will not be required to register as a sex offender but a no-contact order was put into place between him and the woman.
Miller has a review hearing on June 15 to make sure he completed his sentence, the court records show.
Miller was charged in January 2019 with intimidating a witness, a felony, and second-degree custodial sexual misconduct, a gross misdemeanor. The intimidation charge had carried aggravating factors alleging Miller committed the crime by using his position of trust, confidence or responsibility and that he also committed the offense to maintain his employment, the county court records state.
That charge was eventually pleaded down, the records show.
Miller was fired from his position as a corrections deputy with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office in February 2019. He had been employed since February 2017, according to the sheriff’s office.
The woman involved in the case filed a federal lawsuit against Miller, the county, the sheriff’s office and Sheriff Bill Elfo in late December 2020, according to federal court records.
The woman alleges that Miller and the county violated her civil rights, the court records show. The woman’s federal lawsuit states that after her release in 2017, Miller stalked her and showed up unannounced at a friend’s house looking for her. When the woman was incarcerated again in 2018, Miller allegedly “utilized other deputies to get (the woman) for him in order to create the appearance that none of the deputies were safe for her and all of them were involved and had Miller’s back,” the federal court records state.
Miller sexually assaulted the woman in areas of the jail where cameras didn’t reach and called into her cell on an unrecorded phone line used for attorneys to let the woman know he was watching her, the woman’s lawsuit states.
Miller also allegedly threatened the woman with isolation after initial reports of misconduct were made, according to the lawsuit.
The woman’s lawsuit says the sheriff’s office and county failed to conduct a proper investigation the first time it was notified of Miller’s alleged improper conduct, the court records state. The county and sheriff’s office breached their duty to investigate sexual misconduct, keep the woman safe from sexual misconduct and properly train and supervise Miller, the lawsuit states.
In a response to the woman’s lawsuit filed Feb. 19, Whatcom County and the sheriff’s office deny any allegations made against them, and asked the court to dismiss the woman’s lawsuit with prejudice, court records state.
In a response to the woman’s lawsuit filed Feb. 22, Adam Miller asserted his Fifth Amendment rights and didn’t admit or deny the allegations in the woman’s lawsuit. Miller also said there were other parties involved who Miller had no control over who are liable for the woman’s alleged damages, the court records show.
Miller’s response also states that he has qualified immunity for some of the allegations and asked that the woman’s federal lawsuit be dismissed with prejudice, the court records state.
This story was originally published March 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
