Suit filed over jail hanging of ex-Missouri sheriff's deputy

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. — Relatives are suing over the death of a former eastern Missouri sheriff’s deputy who hanged himself while jailed on sexual-assault charges.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the wife of Marty Rainey and her children filed the wrongful-death suit Friday in federal court. It states Ste. Genevieve County Jail officials deprived the former Gasconade County deputy of his right “to be protected from known risks of suicide.”

The coroner’s report states Rainey made a noose out of a torn sheet last year. Rainey was accused of sexually abusing women and enticing a minor into prostitution.

Rainey also had worked as a police officer in Hermann and Rosebud.

The suit names the county and various officials. A lawyer for the defendants declined to comment to the Post-Dispatch.

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com

Pertinent address:

Ste. Genevieve, Mo.