Sex claims further cloud Contra Costa jail system
Right now in Richmond, Contra Costa County sheriff ’s officials are preparing to expel a deputy they say had unlawful consensual sex with two female inmates at the jail there.
His behavior was, they want you to know, an anomaly.
Let me recap in case you missed this news story: Patrick Morseman, a nearly three-year veteran of the Sheriff ’s Office, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of consensual sex with two inmates at the West County Detention Facility. But one of those inmates, a woman who spoke with me by phone from the jail, said she didn’t consent to sex — she and her friend, she says, were raped.
Here’s the thing. To hear the woman describe it, Morseman apparently didn’t fear getting caught by another deputy patrolling the cellblock as he unbuckled his belt. He wasn’t in a rush. He took his time. If this is true, how could a deputy be so cavalier, especially at a time when jail operations are already under investigation by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra?
If jail employees aren’t on their best behavior now, what was it like in the past?
If jail inmates are susceptible to sexual assault, imagine what could be happening to immigrant detainees who have more trouble speaking out? And that was before the detention facility made it harder for immigrant voices to be heard when it banned a San Francisco advocacy group that wants the U.S. to end immigrant detention.
In March, the Contra Costa County Sheriff ’s Office revoked visitation privileges for Freedom for Immigrants, the organization formerly known as Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement, or CIVIC.
In response, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, said it is time for Contra Costa County to end its relationship with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which contracts with the county to detain immigrants.
Remember, it was Freedom for Immigrants that published a letter signed by 27 female inmates at the jail saying that they were being treated poorly because of their immigration status.
I’ve been writing about conditions at the detention facility since November when Dianny Patricia Menendez, a native of Honduras, begged an immigration judge in October to be deported rather than endure the jail conditions in Richmond.
She said jail staff there did not allow her — and others — to use the restrooms and forced them instead to urinate and defecate into red biodegradable bags.
The Sheriff ’s Office denied the inhumane treatment of female detainees.
This time, the inmates are being treated like accomplices.
According to the Sheriff ’s Office, the women consented. When I asked the Sheriff ’s Office for comment on the allegations of rape, a spokesman deflected by pointing out that the women have criminal histories and that “there was an exchange of funds with money placed into the accounts of the inmates.”
The women are prisoners, not sex workers.
The money was paid to one of the women by Morseman to keep them quiet about what happened, according to the woman who spoke to me. That doesn’t mean what happened was consensual sex.
“I think that they think it’s our fault, like maybe we seduced him or on free time we should’ve went about our business instead of being at the deputy’s desk to give him that, you know, give him any type of reason to interact with us,” the woman told me.
The whole incident — in light of the problems at the jail — is extremely troubling.
For now, Morseman remains out of jail on bail. I was unable to reach him for comment.
Scott Alonso, a spokesman for Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton, told me that he anticipates receiving a full report from the Sheriff ’s Office soon, possibly as early as next week.
The district attorney’s office will determine what charges, if any, are brought against Morseman.
“We’re still hopeful that we can evaluate something soon, but the investigation is ongoing,” Alonso said.
Regardless of what happens with Morseman, though, it’s time to take a hard look at what’s happening at the Contra Costa County jails under the leadership of Sheriff David Livingston.