Two former Oklahoma County jailers have pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor cruelty charge for forcing inmates to listen to "Baby Shark" as punishment.

Gregory Cornell Butler Jr. and Christian Charles Miles were put on probation for two years and fined $200.

They also were ordered to pay $300 in victims' compensation and complete 40 hours of community service. They were banned from working in law enforcement.

Both were charged after an investigation determined handcuffed inmates were forced to stand for long periods chained to a wall in the attorney visitation booth as discipline in 2019.

The two guards further mistreated inmates by playing children's music loudly on a loop, investigators reported. Both resigned after coming under investigation.

More: "Baby Shark" kid's song used to bully jail inmates, DA says

The criminal case centered on four victims, but investigators believe there were more.

One victim said he had to listen to "Baby Shark" for two hours straight, according to an investigative report. Another said the "weird little song" was blaring and played "over and over and over again."

The case brought worldwide media attention to the troubled jail after The Oklahoman first reported on it in October 2020.

Both Butler and Miles confirmed playing "Baby Shark" during the discipline, according to the report.

"That was a joke between Miles and I," Butler said, according to the report.

The discipline had at one point involved children's music featuring Elmo, the popular Sesame Street character. Another guard admitted he suggested to Miles playing "Baby Shark."

A jury trial in the misdemeanor case had been set to begin Monday.

Instead, Butler, 24, and Miles, 23, pleaded no contest Thursday to three misdemeanor cruelty counts.

Special Judge Martha Oakes imposed the sentences.

She chose a type of probation that will leave them with no conviction on their record if they get in no further trouble.

Both also had been charged with conspiracy but prosecutors dropped that count.

Miles and other detention officers did the best they could to try to keep order "with the lack of leadership going on at the time," his attorney, Michael Johnson, said.

Miles is now a truck driver.

"These inmates were winning the war at the jail," his attorney said.

Children's songs were played to calm inmates down, the attorney said. "It's basically like a time out," Johnson said.

Prosecutors also dismissed all misdemeanor counts against a supervisor.

Christopher Raymond Hendershott, a lieutenant at the jail, retired after coming under investigation. He had been charged with four cruelty counts and a conspiracy count.

He was accused of failing to take proper action after learning of the discipline. He is now 52.

"This guy was truly innocent," his attorney, Gary James, said.

Prosecutors realized that after reviewing the files, the attorney said.

Three of the "Baby Shark" inmates filed a federal lawsuit over their mistreatment, but a judge ruled against them. An appeal is expected now that the criminal case is complete.

One plaintiff, John Basco, died in the jail of a fentanyl overdose last September.

The fourth "Baby Shark" victim, convicted murderer Brandon Newell, agreed to be a witness in the federal lawsuit.

Newell said he was forced to listen to "Baby Shark" for popping out the door of his cell. "After the third repeat, I wanted to scream," he told the plaintiffs' lawyer, Cameron Spradling, in a letter.

"I was angry and humiliated," Newell wrote.

At the time of the incidents, Sheriff P.D. Taylor was in charge of jail operations. A trust took over the jail July 1, 2020, and Taylor left office after losing reelection.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: "Baby Shark' jailers sentenced for cruelty to Oklahoma County inmates