Officials: Yuma prison guard was sexually assaulted

A female officer with the Arizona Department of Corrections was sexually assaulted in April, according to a department spokesman.

Fernandes Masters, 31, is accused of sexually assaulting the officer on April 13 during a meeting with him in an office at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Yuma, Department of Corrections spokesman Andrew Wilder said Saturday.

The officer called for help and was treated on site before being taken to a hospital for further evaluation, according to Wilder.

“Due to the nature of the violent attack, the de- partment is seeking criminal charges,” Wilder said.

Masters is currently serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, and a search on the Department of Corrections website shows 24 “disciplinary infractions” against him, including assaulting an inmate in 2009.

The Department of Corrections is conducting its own criminal investi- gation into the assault, and its investigators have been working with the Yuma County Attorney’s Office since the incident occurred, Wilder said.

Wilder said he could not elaborate on the guard’s injuries or how long the officer has been working for the department because the investigation is ongoing.

The officer is still em- ployed with the department.

The latest incident is the second time within 18 months that a female Department of Corrections employee has said they were attacked while on the job.

In 2014, inmate Jacob Harvey, 21, was accused of sexually assaulting a teacher who was left alone in a classroom at Ey- man Prison in Florence.

The woman is currently suing the department for $4 million, claiming that a “lack of basic security measures provided Harvey the opportunity to rape and assault” her, according to a claim filed last year.

Harvey has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently awaiting trial.