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Corrections Officer Guilty of Sex Abuse
A former corrections officer has pleaded guilty to violating an inmate’s civil rights and making false statements to the FBI.
Sylvester Bruce, 44, a former corrections officer with Navajo Nation’s Shiprock Detention Center in Shiprock, N.M., pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of violating the civil rights of the victim when he touched her breasts against her will during the summer and fall of 2010.
According to court documents, Bruce repeatedly placed his hands under the victim’s shirt and bra and grabbed her breasts, knowing that she did not consent to his actions. He did so in areas of the jail that did not have surveillance cameras.
Bruce admitted that he lied to the FBI when he denied taking pictures of inmates inside their cells. He acknowledged that he had, in fact, photographed two female inmates asleep on a bed in their cell.
The plea deal requires Bruce to serve a 12-month and a day sentence in federal prison. He will also be barred from serving in a law enforcement capacity again and will be required to register as a sex offender at the federal and state levels.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales praised the victim for her courage in coming forward and asserting her right to be free of sexual abuse. He also commended the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division for their work on the case.
The FBI’s Albuquerque Division led the investigation, which was assisted by the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico.
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Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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