COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Cook County jail guard is accused of letting inmates watch porn on Apple devices in the jailhouse barbershop.
Correctional Officer Oscar Taylor, 53, is charged with bringing unauthorized contraband into a penal institution. Taylor, who is barred from carrying a gun, was also charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after investigators found a .38 caliber gun in his car, prosecutors said.
During a bond hearing Wednesday, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said Taylor previously worked as a Cook County sheriff's deputy but was de-deputized after a 2004 incident where he pulled a gun during a traffic crash and allegedly said: "I'm a cop, I'll kill you."
Taylor has worked as a correctional officer since that incident.
"I'm amazed he had a job at the jail," Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. said Wednesday, before adding: "He should be in jail, that's where he should be."
Despite that, Bourgeois said Taylor could be released on his own recognizance if the Cook County Sheriff's Office agrees to provide electronic monitoring.
Authorities began to investigate Taylor after receiving a tip that he was allowing inmates in a Division 6 barbershop to use an iPhone and iPods, Scaduto said. Taylor was frequently stationed in the barber shop during shift rotations, she added.
Investigators played back security cameras and found a June video that shows inmates using handheld devices "in plain view" of Taylor, Scaduto said.
Taylor was arrested while working in the barbershop Monday, according to prosecutors. During a search of the shop, authorities found an iPhone 6, two iPods, speakers and a USB port, court records show. One of the devices was playing pornography, Scaduto said.
Two of the inmates who were allegedly using an iPhone and iPod, respectively, at the time have also been charged.
Authorities searched Taylor's car and asked him whether they'd find anything, Scaduto said. Taylor admitted he had a gun under the driver's seat, and the sheriff's office recovered a .38 caliber unloaded gun and two pouches of ammunition containing 15 rounds total, prosecutors said.
According to court records, Taylor did not have a valid FOID card. And Scaduto said he hasn't been allowed to carry a gun since January 2004 when he was charged with aggravated assault and domestic battery.
Taylor was caught violating that gun ban in October 2004 when he pulled a gun following a traffic crash and told another driver "I'm a cop, I'll kill you," prosecutors said. He was convicted of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and sentenced to two years probation, which he completed successfully.
According to court records, Taylor lives in Arlington Heights or Oak Park (two separate addresses are listed on different documents) and has worked for the Cook County Sheriff's Office for 23 years.
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