2 Oklahoma City jail guards get probation for punishing inmates with 'Baby Shark' song

OKLAHOMA CITY (TCD) -- Two men were reportedly sentenced to probation and ordered to pay fines several years after they allegedly forced inmates to listen to "Baby Shark" for hours on end as punishment.

Court records show Christian Miles and Gregory Butler pleaded no contest to four counts of cruelty to a prisoner March 30. Christopher Hendershott's attorneys filed to dismiss the charges against him April 5. KFOR-TV reports the men also faced charges of corporal punishment to an inmate and conspiracy.

According to KFOR, Miles and Butler worked as jailers at the Oklahoma City Jail and Hendershott was their supervisor. In 2019, Miles and Butler reportedly brought several inmates out of their cells in the middle of the night and made them listen to the popular children’s song "Baby Shark" on repeat. The inmates were reportedly handcuffed and placed in a "standing stress position."

Court documents cited by KFOR said Butler and Miles put the inmates in a booth and made them listen to the song in order to "teach them a lesson because they felt that disciplinary action within the Detention Center was not working in correcting the behavior of the inmates."

Miles reportedly told investigators Butler did not like some of the inmates, which "led to those inmates being taken out of their cells/pods and mistreated."

Hendershott reportedly knew about the punishment but did not stop Butler and Miles.

Some of the prisoners filed a federal lawsuit against the jail, according to KFOR.

KFOR reports prosecutors said the actions were "nothing short of Draconian," and likened them to types of torture used at Guantanamo Bay.

Prosecutor Casey Davis said the actions were "done with one purpose and that is to harass, to annoy, to torture, to inflict emotional anguish."

KFOR says Miles and Butler were ordered to pay $200 in fines and $300 in compensation to the victims and must serve 40 hours of community service. They are also forbidden from working in law enforcement.

MORE:

• State of Oklahoma v. Christopher Hendershott, Christian Miles, and Gregory Butler
• Ex-Oklahoma Co. jailers sentenced to probation in 'Baby Shark' torture case after no contest plea - KFOR
• Federal lawsuit filed after alleged ‘Baby Shark torture’ at Oklahoma County Jail, 11/5/2021 - KFOR
• Oklahoma County jailers allegedly torture inmates with 'Baby Shark' song, 10/7/2020 - KFOR