Austin Cole Sluder was hired by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office on May 10, 2021 as a deputy sheriff recruit and was assigned to the Jail Division. Sluder started basic law enforcement mandate on July 2, 2021 and completed it on September 10, 2021. He was sworn in as a deputy sheriff by Sheriff Pounds on September 13, 2021. After completing basic mandate, he was assigned to the Jail Division awaiting his reassignment to the Patrol Division. We received a complaint from a female inmate on September 20, 2021 that Sluder had used his cell phone to take nude photographs of her in her cell back in July. The complaint was turned over to the Office of Professional Standards (OPS) for investigation. The complaint was investigated and although the investigation concluded that Sluder took his cell phone into the cell block, OPS could not determine with certainty that Sluder used it to photograph the female inmate. Based on information obtained during the OPS investigation Sluder was dismissed from employment while under probationary status on October 20, 2021. After Sluder’s dismissal another inmate came forward alleging that Sluder forced her to perform oral sex on him while she was in custody. At that time Sheriff Pounds requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) to conduct a criminal investigation into the incident. We assisted the GBI with any request for documents and video surveillance, but was not involved in the criminal investigation other than that. This morning Sluder had a bond hearing in front of Chief Magistrate Judge Susan Camp. He received a bond of $200,000 and will be required to wear a tracking device if he makes bond and is released from jail. Any further questions pertaining to the criminal investigation needs to be directed to the GBI.  Sheriff Pounds wants to send a message to all of his employees and the community. He said “I’ve said this before and I’m going to say it again. As long as you follow the law and my policy I will back you 110%; however, if you step outside the law or the policy you are on your own. If you violate the law, you, like everyone else will have to suffer the consequences of your actions.”