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A former inmate at the White County Jail is accusing the White County Commissioners and the county sheriff of failing to reasonably care for the welfare of jail inmates after a former correctional officer pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting her.
The lawsuit was filed May 1 in Marion Superior Court by plaintiff Breann Cobb, who reported being sexually assaulted by the correctional officer in 2024. The complaint names Bill Brooks, sheriff of White County; William Cottrell, the former correctional officer; and the White County Board of Commissioners as defendants.
“This case is not only about pursuing justice for our client, but also about condoning and seeking to prevent abuse of power within our state’s correctional facilities in the future,” Tyler Zipes, attorney for Cobb, said in a statement to The Indiana Lawyer. “We feel that nobody, regardless of their circumstances, should be subjected to abuse by those that are entrusted with their safety and their welfare, and we are committed to holding the responsible parties accountable and pursuing meaningful reforms to ensure things like this don’t happen to anybody else.”
Representatives for the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to the complaint, plaintiff Cobb was sexually assaulted by Cottrell on two different occasions in May 2024.
That June, Cottrell was charged with two counts of sexual misconduct. In March 2026, he was sentenced to three years in jail with two years suspended and one day of jail credit after pleading guilty to one count of sexual misconduct as part of a plea agreement. His other sexual misconduct charge was dismissed under the plea agreement.
Back in August 2024, Cobb had served defendants a tort claim notice regarding the offense but it went unanswered, according to the complaint. Because of this, Cobb filed the lawsuit.
She is suing defendants for negligence, sexual battery (against Cottrell only) and for allegedly being aware of correctional officers’ sexual misconduct but doing nothing to prevent it, a violation of Cobb’s civil rights.
The case is Breann Cobb v. Bill Brooks, White County, White County Commissioners, William Cottrell, 49D03-2605-CT-024447.
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