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Sexual assault reported in Dillingham Jail

John E. Wassily, 54, booked for sexually assaulting another man in his cell. Both men were sleeping one off in jail Tuesday night.

KDLG:  Dillingham police have charged a man with third degree sexual assault for an alleged incident inside a jail cell.

Audio transcript below:

On Tuesday evening Dillingham police picked up 54-year-old John Wassily who was lying in the street by the Senior Center intoxicated. They placed him under Title 47 protection, meaning Wassily was given a jail cell to sleep it off, but was not under arrest.

His cell mate that night was another man under Title 47 protection, also sleeping off having too much to drink.

Within minutes of Wassily coming into the cell, the other inmate called for help saying he had been sexually assaulted. Police say they separated the men, and reviewed the video surveillance footage the next day.

According to police the footage showed Wassily groping the man, curling up next to him with his pants off, and other acts considered sexual assault. The victim woke up and kicked Wassillie off of him before calling for help.

Wassily told police he only remembered waking up in cell 5, and that he'd had a "fifth" of vodka and two beers to drink the day before.

Police interviewed the victim who recalled the specifics of the incident, saying he felt violated and would testify in court.

Both men told police they didn’t know each other.

John Wassily was booked on a third degree sexual assault charge and held on $10,000 bail pending arraignment.