Jail employees charged with cruelty, accused of playing 'Baby Shark' on repeat for inmates
OKLAHOMA CITY - At least two former Oklahoma jail employees and their supervisor were charged Monday after investigators said they discovered handcuffed inmates were forced to listen to the children's song "Baby Shark" for hours, according to reports.
District Attorney David Prater charged Oklahoma County jail employees Gregory Cornell Butler Jr. and Christian Charles Miles, both 21, and their supervisor, Christopher Raymond Hendershott, 50, with misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a prisoner and conspiracy.
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"It was unfortunate that I could not find a felony statute to fit this fact scenario," Prater said, according to The Oklahoman. "I would have preferred filing a felony on this behavior."
At least four inmates were subjected to the "inhumane" discipline in an attorney visitation room last November and December, authorities said. The inmates were allegedly secured to a wall while handcuffed as the song played on a loop for hours at a high level of volume.
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Butler and Miles are accused of imposing the discipline, the paper reported. Hendershott is accused of not intervening and allowing the behavior.
The pair resigned during an internal investigation. Hendershott retired, Sheriff P.D. Taylor said Monday.
“We don’t tolerate it,” Taylor added. “We always did an excellent job policing ourselves.”
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A video for the children's song “Baby Shark,” was posted online by the company Pinkfong in 2016. It gained huge popularity two years ago and has since been viewed more than 6.7 billion times.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.