California Corrections Officer Sentenced for Having Sex With Inmate in Front of 11 Other Prisoners
Tina Gonzalez reportedly cut a hole in the pants of her uniform to make it easier to have sex while working as a Fresno Country corrections officer.
A female corrections officer in California has been sentenced to jail for reportedly having sex with an incarcerated man in front of 11 other inmates.
Tina Gonzalez, 26, cut a hole in the pants of her uniform to make it easier to have sex while working as a Fresno Country corrections officer, according to The Fresno Bee.
Gonzalez began working at the county jail in 2016, the Bee reported. She was arrested in May 2020 following an investigation into her conduct.
According to a police report, the sheriff's office received a tip that a correctional officer has been having sex with an inmate and that she had smuggled a cell phone into the county jail.
The investigation apparently revealed that alongside the phone, Gonzalez had also smuggled in razors, which could potentially have been used as weapons, according to the New York Post.
Gonzalez’s former boss, Assistant Sheriff Steve McComas, told the court that he had seen "pretty disgusting things" during his 26 years working on the job, however he had never been more surprised than when he learned of Gonzalez's having sex in full view of other inmates.
“That is something only a depraved mind can come up with,” McComas told the court, according to The Fresno Bee. "She took an oath, which she betrayed, and in doing so, endangered her co-workers' lives.”
McComas said in court that Gonzalez did not appear to be remorseful for her actions.
"But she has shown no remorse,” said McComas, alleging that Gonzalez had continued to call and have sexually explicit conversations with the inmate with whom she had sex.
Earlier this year in April, Gonzalez pleaded no contest to one count of sexual activity by a detention facility employee with a consenting confined adult, one count of possession of drugs or an alcoholic beverage in a jail facility and a misdemeanor count of possession of cellular device with intent to deliver to an inmate.
During court proceedings, Gonzalez's lawyer reportedly said his client was in a vulnerable position at the time after her marriage had ended.
"It was never her intention to bring any harm or danger to the employees in the jail or anyone else in the jail," her attorney said.
Although prosecutors had been seeking a 15-month sentence according to Fox News, Gonzalez was given two years probation and seven months in the county jail. Her early plea and lack of criminal history were taken into consideration when she was sentenced, Judge Michael Idiart said.