Dublin prison officer pleads guilty to sexually assaulting inmate – NBC10 Philadelphia

One of five female workers accused of sexually abusing inmates at a federal women’s prison in California pleaded guilty Thursday, prosecutors said.

Enrique Chavez pleaded guilty to one count of forcible sexual contact with an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Federal prosecutors said Chavez, 50, was working as a catering foreman there two years ago when he locked the pantry door and fondled an inmate.

Chavez could face up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on Feb. 2, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

“The public trusts that corrections officers will act in good faith, but instead, Chavez used his position of authority to sexually assault an inmate under his supervision,” Zachary Schroer, special agent in charge of the Office of the Inspector General, said in a statement. Ministry of Justice. General in Los Angeles.

Chavez was there the fifth staff member at a Dublin prison to be accused of sexual assault prisoners from June 2021. Among others, a former prison warden and a chaplain. He is the third to plead guilty.

Former chaplain James Theodore Highhouse was sentenced in August to seven years in prison — more than double the sentence recommended by federal sentencing guidelines.

Ross Klinger, a recycling technician, pleaded guilty in February but has not yet been sentenced.

former warden Ray J. Garcia, pleaded not guilty to assaulting three women. His trial is scheduled for November.

Earlier this year, an Associated Press investigation found that the FCI Dublin. The AP also detailed steps taken to keep abuse secret, such as ignoring allegations, retaliating against whistleblowers and sending inmates to solitary confinement or other prisons for reporting abuse.

The Ministry of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons convened a task force of 18 senior executives to visit Dublin, examine conditions and meet prisoners and staff.