Prison officer sentenced in inmate sex abuse case
Vanessa Arredondo
A former federal correctional officer was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday for sexually abusing women inmates in California – the latest case to focus on sex abuse in the nation’s prisons.
Andrew Jones, 36, of Clovis, California, pleaded guilty on Aug. 17 to six counts of sexual abuse involving three inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution at Dublin, California, and one count of lying to U.S. Department of Justice investigators. He was sentenced to 96 months in prison.
Jones was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release after his prison term, DOJ officials said. He is expected back in court on Feb. 8 for a restitution hearing.
Sexual abuse of inmates is an ongoing problem in U.S. jails and prisons, with thousands of victims of both inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate abuse reported from 2016 through 2018, according to a DOJ special report released earlier this year.
In October, a former Oregon Department of Corrections nurse was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting nine female inmates while working at a correctional facility.
According to a recent Senate investigation, sexual abuse from employees was reported in at least two-thirds of all federal facilities in the past decade, with female prisoners more susceptible to the abuse. Sexual contact between federal prison employees and inmates is a federal crime.
According to the Senate report, four facilities in New York, Florida and California with female inmates had recurring cases of sexual abuse from male employees between 2012 and 2022. FCI Dublin was among them.
“The egregious sexual abuse that took place at FCI Dublin was disgraceful and tragic, and the Justice Department will not rest until we have eliminated such misconduct from the Federal Bureau of Prisons,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said.
Prosecutors said Jones is one of eight officers at Dublin charged with sexual misconduct in the past three years, and the fourth to be sentenced.
DOJ Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said Jones, the warden, the chaplain and other facility employees “participated in a culture of sexual abuse” at the all-women, minimum-security prison housing 714 inmates.
According to officials, Jones admitted that between July 2020 and June 2021, while he had supervisory and disciplinary authority over the women inmates, he received oral sex or had sexual intercourse with three inmates who worked for him in the facility’s kitchen.
Prosecutors said he “enforced silence and obedience” by using “violence and threats of violence.”
Authorities said the abuse occurred in places like a staff bathroom and a room where utensils were kept.
“Intimidation and insults on the one hand, and the flattery on the other, was aimed at cultivating pliant prisoners who Jones could abuse for his own sexual pleasure, while he remained safe in the belief that his misconduct would go unreported,” prosecutors said.
Donald Murphy, U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesperson, told USA Today that psychological and religious resources have been offered to women in custody.
As of May 2022, officials said at least 17 current or former employees are being investigated for sexual misconduct at FCI Dublin.
“To be clear, this investigation is not over,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Ismail Ramsey.