NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A Maury County corrections officer faces up to 20 years in prison after being convicted of obstruction of justice.

The Department of Justice said 32-year-old James Justice, aka James Stewart Thomas, of Columbia was indicted in May 2022 and charged with falsifying records related to nonconsensual sexual contact he reportedly had with a female inmate in his custody during his tenure with the Maury County Sheriff’s Office.

Furthermore, evidence presented at trial revealed Justice wrote an official report in which he lied about reporting to two Maury County Jail supervisors that an inmate had made sexual advances toward him while the inmate was in his custody at a hospital.

The report also falsely claimed the jail supervisors told Justice not to write a report about the alleged sexual advances by the inmate and also omitted that Justice had had a sexual relationship with the inmate after she was released from custody, according to documents.

Justice is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, Sept. 18.