JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A central Mississippi county official has been formally charged with violating a woman's civil rights.

Simpson County Chancery Clerk Tommy Joe Harvey was arrested Wednesday and taken to jail in Madison County, the same day an indictment was issued for one count of depriving someone of their civil rights. Harvey is accused of pepper spraying a handcuffed woman in April 2017 while acting in his official duties.

It's unclear what the circumstances of the alleged act were. No attorney is yet listed for Harvey.

He's scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in Jackson. Harvey could face up to 10 years in prison.

The 70-year-old Harvey has been Simpson County's chancery clerk since 2004. The office is traditionally one of the most powerful in a Mississippi county's government