Jail rape lawsuits point to need for more vigilance

“It is the policy of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center to provide a safe and secure environment for all inmates….”

— Bernalillo County website

So how is that policy working out at Bernalillo County’s huge lockup on the Southwest Mesa?

The verdict’s still out. Here we are in early 2015 and the county and MDC are facing yet another civil lawsuit accusing a guard of raping a female inmate.

The alleged victim also filed a lawsuit in 2nd Judicial District Court against the accused correctional officer, Andres Verdugo, and Deputy County Manager for Public Safety Tom Swisstack. It claims the jail hasn’t taken steps to protect inmates from jail staff and has maintained the same dangerous conditions cited in a 2008 Department of Justice report. The federal investigators found MDC the third-highest rate of inmate sexual victimization in the nation as well as the third-highest rate of non-consensual sexual acts and staff-on-inmate sexual victimization.

Verdugo was arrested after female inmates made multiple allegations of misconduct. He is charged with rape and witness intimidation. He posted bond and has resigned his position with the county.

Meanwhile, a criminal case against fellow guard Sgt. Torry Chambers languishes in the legal system even though the county paid nearly $1 million in a settlement to inmates who accused him of rape. He was indicted last March and faces charges of raping female inmates and facilitating a male inmate’s rapes of female inmates. He is back at work at MDC after a period of paid leave.

While both guards are assumed to be innocent until proven guilty, the suit against Verdugo cites Chambers’ case as an example that nothing has changed at the jail.

An MDC spokeswoman said the county has changed its hiring process and added psychological evaluations for corrections officer applicants. Well and good, but Verdugo is accused of telling women “he’d been there long enough to know how to get away with things.”

A safe environment for all at the jail should be a top priority — as well as protecting taxpayers from spending money on easily avoidable lawsuits.

And with Chambers still on the public payroll, it’s going to be hard to dispute the plaintiff’s argument that the county isn’t serious about all this.