Reports emerged of a female California corrections officer being jailed for engaging in sexual activity with an inmate in full view of 11 other inmates.
Tina Gonzalez, 26, had been employed as a Fresno County corrections officer since 2016 but was arrested in May 2020 as a result of an investigation into her behavior. A tip-off led the Sheriff’s Office to uncover allegations of an inmate engaging in sexual activity with a correctional officer and the smuggling of a phone.
The investigation also discovered that Gonzalez had smuggled in razors, which could have been used as weapons.
It was also revealed that she punctured a hole in her uniform pants to facilitate sexual activity in Fresno County Jail, as reported by The Fresno Bee.
Her former boss, Assistant Sheriff Steve McComas, testified in court that, during his 26 years on the job, he had witnessed numerous “pretty disgusting things” but nothing as shocking as the revelation of Gonzalez’s sexual activity in full view of other inmates.
“That is something only a depraved mind can come up with,” McComas stated in court, according to the local paper.
He went on to note, “She took an oath which she betrayed and in doing so endangered her coworkers’ lives.”
He added, “But she has shown no remorse. She continually calls and has sexually explicit conversations with the inmate in question and boasts about the crimes she carried out,” as mentioned in the Bee.
Gonzalez entered a no-contest plea in April for engaging in sexual activity by a detention facility employee with a consenting inmate, as well as possessing drugs or alcohol, and a cell phone to give to an inmate, according to the outlet.
Despite her former boss advocating for the maximum sentence of three years and eight months in prison, Judge Michael Idiart declined and instead sentenced her to seven months in the county jail followed by two years of probation, considering her early plea and lack of criminal history.
“I think what you did was terrible, stupid and you have ruined your career,” Idiart remarked to Gonzalez.
He also expressed belief in the potential for redemption, stating, “But I also believe that people can redeem themselves and you have the rest of your life to do that. Good luck.”