Louisiana Voice

Jackson Parish Sheriff Andy Brown has confirmed the arrest of one of his deputies for the rape of a juvenile – his own daughter.

Brown is the same sheriff who was CITED last December for having “flouted state-licensing law for juvenile detention facilities.” He also operated two private corporations out of the same address in he Jackson Parish town of Quitman – a towing service which reportedly performed towing services for the sheriff’s department and a Covid testing operation through a clinic called Mercy Medical that was housed in the former parish health unit purchased by the…sheriff’s office.

Shipping containers were purchased by the father of Donovan Shultz, Brown’s number-three person in the sheriff’s office and the agent for Six Point Consultants, the Covid testing corporation. And why did the sheriff’s office need shipping containers? Well, he was going to convert them to house juvenile offenders for about $1.6 million a year until the state YANKED THE CONTRACT almost before the ink was dried on it.

One of the problems was the facility was never licensed to house pre-trial youth. But was just one of the problems. An inspection earlier this year noted 83 VIOLATIONS in the treatment of youth – more than all other youth detention facilities in the state combined. These included poor conditions, physical abuse, chemical restraints, violent environment and a suicide attempt.

Other violations include a lack of educational and mental health services, poor hygiene and basic care, minors reporting they were maced, hit with pepper balls and physically restrained by guards.

A federal lawsuit was filed in 2024 to address the alleged abuses and systemic issues at the facility. Civil rights groups, including Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), have opposed the use of an adult jail for minors and issued calls for federal intervention.

But now comes a new round of allegations of a more sordid stripe.

Reports confirmed by Brown indicate there have been the arrest of at least one deputy for having sex with a minor. Another deputy was arrested on an “unspecified warrant. There have been a few of those lately and they appear to be connected to sexual crimes, “possibly in order to keep them from being exposed to the public as sex crimes,” says one source.

That source also said that deputies who get into trouble are usually punished by being sent to the parish prison to work for a period of time “instead of being fired, only to come back once they are back in the sheriff’s good graces.”

Brown confirmed to LouisianaVoice today that deputy Harry Woolridge has been arrested for the “sexual assault of his 14-year-old daughter last year.

He said Woolridge, who joined the sheriff’s office “from the local police department” about two years ago, is presently in the Jackson Parish jail with bond set at $1.5 million. “It’s a tragedy,” Brown said.

The six-term Sheriff Brown, first elected in 2003, makes a base salary of $177,084 per year but additional benefits bump the total amount of remuneration to $280,506, a rather hefty salary for a depressed parish like Jackson. Those benefits include $16,218 for insurance; $46,710 in retirement benefits, $17,709 expense allowance, $18,216 for a vehicle, $592 for his cell phone, $363 for dues and $3,614 for conference travel.