Lawsuits claim Henry County officials covered up rape, sexual abuse by former Sheriff, community cor

HENRY COUNTY, Ind. - Numerous lawsuits, including one filed this week, claim that a former deputy director of Henry County Community Corrections and a former Henry County Sheriff raped or sexually abused convicts for decades, and their actions were covered up by other county officials.




FOX59/CBS4 first reported on Jason Bertram in May 2023, a few months after he shot himself at his home in Lawrence, Indiana. At the time of his suicide, he was wanted on eight criminal charges. The most serious of the offenses were two counts of sexual misconduct.




Those charges stemmed partially from Bertram's sexual abuse in 2018 of Samuel Shipley, who had been sentenced to house arrest and electronic monitoring for a probation violation.

He went to community corrections to take a drug test knowing that he would fail.




After meeting Bertram in his office, the two walked to a room down the hall for the test. Part of Bertram's responsibility is to watch a urine sample being provided to make sure it's authentic.




Shipley urinated in the sample cup and handed it to Bertram who said, "You ever think about being in porn?"




Back in his office, Shipley said Bertram threw the urine sample in a trash can next to his desk and said, "You don't have to worry about that. I'm kinda the boss."




Then, Shipley said Bertram made a request, "Let me see your d***."




Bertram repeated, 'Let me see your d***, one time."




Shipley said he didn't know what to do, but also knew not complying with Bertram could land him behind bars.




"So, I'm afraid I did," said Shipley.




Shipley told the same story to a state police detective who eventually forwarded the case on to then-Prosecutor Joseph Bergacs, who never filed charges against Bertram.




"As one police officer in Henry County said, 75% of law enforcement knew about Sheriff Cronk, knew about Bertram," attorney Jon Little said. "For some reason, they let that go."




Little is representing Shipley along with at least five other men who say Bertram sexually abused or raped them while overseeing their probation. All of them have filed federal lawsuits against numerous Henry County officials and agencies.




Each one tells a frighteningly similar story.




"The choice he gave them was 'c** on my face or go to prison. Let me jerk you off or go to prison,'" Little said.




One of the men suing claims Bertram knew his mother had cancer and used that to keep him quiet.




"(Bertram) told him that if he cooperated with the sexual abuse, (Bertram) would help him stay out of jail so he could help his mother," the suit claims. "The abuse eventually escalated to anal rape."




In a new lawsuit, filed just this week, Little claims the abuse went further than Bertram. Inmate Michael Ritchie claims former Henry County Sheriff Kim Cronk raped and sexually abused him while he was in a work release program.




"Kim Cronk allowed Mr. Ritchie to maintain the vending machines at the work release facility," Little wrote in the lawsuit. "While he was stocking them, Mr. Cronk fondled Mr. Ritchie by grabbing his penis and testicles on multiple occasions."




The abuse goes back decades, Little said, and it was a well-known secret amongst county officials, and yet nobody did anything about it.




"I believe that Cronk was feeding victims to Bertram," Little said. "That certainly was the case for Mr. Ritchie. I truly believe that how you treat the least among us is what we're going to be judged on, and I am so offended that this went on for years and years."




Cronk shot himself in his front yard in 2020. There is a memorial to him in New Castle.




After a new prosecutor charged Bertram in 2024, he put a gun in his mouth and killed himself before he could be arrested. The case against him was dismissed and removed from public access.




"These are people who we've already established can't defend themselves," Little said. "These are young people with no money. These are poor people. These are drug addicts. They still don't deserve to be raped."




The various lawsuits name numerous officials including the Executive Director of Henry County Community Corrections Joni Williams, former Sheriff Rick McCorckle, current Sheriff John Sproles and other various officials and agencies.




Little said the officials who knew about the abuse should step aside, and if he's successful in court, that will be one of his client's demands along with enough money that he says could bankrupt the county.




FOX59/CBS4 reached out to the Henry County Commissioners for comment on the lawsuits but have yet to hear back.




Some of the victims asked to not be identified but four victims were OK with their identities being shared. You can read the full lawsuits below.




Michael Ritchie:




ritchieDownload



James Davidson:




davdisonDownload



Tyler Martz:




martzDownload




via: https://fox59.com/news/lawsuits-claim-henry-county-officials-covered-up-rape-sexual-abuse-by-former-sheriff-community-corrections-officer/