Former Nowata County Jailer Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Inmate

A former Nowata County Detention Officer is out of jail on bond after the OSBI says he’s accused of raping an inmate. Deputies say the jailer got fired the same day the investigation started.

The OSBI says Cody Lowen was arrested for forcible sodomy and rape by instrumentation. Deputies confirmed he worked at the jail as a detention officer since December of last year.

The OSBI says the Nowata County Sheriff asked for help investigating after an inmate reported that Lowen sexually assaulted her while she was in custody.

Lowen was booked into the Washington County Jail on Friday and bonded out Sunday. The Undersheriff said today it's embarrassing to have Nowata in the news again for something negative.

He says behavior like this won't be tolerated or swept under the rug and he hopes the public lets this investigation unfold before making any judgments. He says everyone at sheriff's office have been working hard to make sure citizens can be proud of their department.

"It's just unfortunate that again the Nowata County Sheriff’s Department is in the news for a negative story and the alleged actions of this former employee are the cause of that embarrassment," said Nowata County Undersheriff Jason McClain.   

The Undersheriff says Lowen was fired on April 30th, the same day their investigation started. He says during their investigation another employee at the jail came forward with concerns about Lowen.

Prosecutors are expected to file charges in this case, but that hasn’t happened yet. The Undersheriff says the victim in this incident is not at the jail anymore.