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Former James City Co. jail officer accused of sex crimes with inmates

Posted at 5:23 PM, Oct 18, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-18 23:30:52-04

JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. - Two inmates at Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail say a now-retired jail officer made sexual advances on and inappropriately touched them.

Henry Rhim

63-year-old Henry Rhim of Newport News was taken into custody October 12 and remains in jail.

Police say the accusations against Rhim stem from incidents that allegedly occurred between April and May of this year.

According to court documents the two female inmates were working in the laundry room when they say Rhim would make inappropriate comments, touch them inappropriately and, on one occasion, force them to remove their clothes.

The documents say the two inmates interviewed with investigators in August.

Rhim has a bond hearing scheduled for Thursday morning.

VPRJ Superintendent John Kuplinski provided News 3 this statement in response to the allegations:

"The allegations were made while the accused was on vacation prior to his effective retirement date of August 1, 2017. Once the jail received the allegations, the jail took immediate and appropriate actions by contacting the James City County Police Department."