Lawyer, client accused of sexual contact at jail

By Jackie Valley

Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012 | 4:37 p.m.

An attorney and his client were arrested Tuesday after police allege the pair engaged in sexual contact at the Clark County Detention Center.

Curtis Cannon, 58, and his client, 23-year-old Crystal Wallis, each were arrested on a felony count of voluntary sexual conduct between a prisoner and another person, according to arrest reports.

Metro Police’s Criminal Intelligence Section began investigating the matter after receiving information about Cannon’s alleged misconduct with female inmates, the report states.

Detectives installed a camera Thursday in a detention center visiting room, where Cannon and Wallis were set to meet, police said in the report. The camera recorded video but not audio, thereby not violating private attorney-client conversations.

The video captured Wallis groping Cannon’s crotch area several times and then appearing to perform oral sex on him, according to the arrest report. At one point, Cannon gave Wallis a high five.

During the encounter, Cannon occasionally glanced toward a glass window on the visiting room door, the report states.

Detectives interviewed Wallis later that day after they viewed the video, police said. Wallis admitted to the sexual conduct, the report states.

On Monday, detectives contacted Cannon at the Regional Justice Center and interviewed him. Cannon allegedly admitted to having contact with Wallis, according to the arrest report.

Detectives arrested Cannon and took him across the street to the detention center, where he remained on $5,000 bail.

Cannon, who attended Brigham Young University for law school, has been a member of the State Bar of Nevada since 2007, according to his profile on the bar’s website.

Jail records indicate Wallis has been incarcerated since March on attempted possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of drugs not introduced into commerce and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.