A former Haywood County detention officer is facing seven felony child sex charges tied to alleged incidents from August 2020, and he's now locked up in a neighboring county's jail instead of the one where he used to work. Ian David Huffstutler, 34, was taken into custody on Aug. 31, 2026, and he's being held at the Henderson County Detention Center rather than the Haywood County facility where he was once employed.
According to WLOS, Huffstutler was indicted on three counts of statutory sex offense with a child by an adult and four counts of taking indecent liberties with a child. Per the indictment, he is accused of engaging in a sexual act with a child under 13 years old, with the alleged offenses said to have occurred in August 2020 in Haywood County, according to arrest orders cited by the station. A Haywood County spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that Huffstutler was a former employee of the detention center.
Why He Isn't Being Held in Haywood County
Huffstutler is being held at the Henderson County Detention Center rather than Haywood County's own 109-bed facility inside the Law Enforcement Center at 1620 Brown Avenue in Waynesville.
It remains unclear whether Huffstutler was actively employed by the Haywood County Sheriff's Office at the time the alleged offenses occurred in 2020. County officials have confirmed his former status as a detention officer, but local authorities have not publicly clarified his employment timeline relative to the alleged conduct.
According to the North Carolina Department of Justice, the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission is responsible for certifying all justice officers, including deputy sheriffs. The North Carolina Department of Justice says the state's law-enforcement training and standards system regulates the training and certification of corrections officers.
What the Charges Carry Under North Carolina Law
The three statutory sexual offense counts are among the charges against Huffstutler.
The four indecent liberties counts are part of the charges against Huffstutler. The counts allege indecent liberties with a child. The article does not specify any post-release registration or monitoring requirements.
Part of a Troubling Pattern in Haywood County
Huffstutler's case is not the first involving sex-related felony charges against Haywood County law enforcement personnel in recent months. In June, former Haywood County sheriff's deputy Marvin Lee Norfolk was indicted on charges including rape, attempted rape, and official misconduct following an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, as Hoodline previously reported.
Separately, a high-profile Haywood County child sex crime case concluded in July when Dylan Marshall Sain pleaded guilty to multiple felony child-sex charges and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. Sheriff Bill Wilkie was elected in November 2022 to lead the Haywood County Sheriff's Office.
No court date for Huffstutler has been publicly announced, and it remains to be seen whether prosecutors will pursue consecutive sentencing should he be convicted on multiple counts.
