Sylvester Bruce, Sex Abuse of an Inmate, New Mexico 2010

A former corrections officer at the Navajo Nation’s Shiprock Detention Center in Shiprock, New Mexico, has been sentenced to prison for sexually abusing an inmate.

Sylvester Bruce, 45, pleaded guilty in July 2012 to violating the victim’s civil rights and making material false statements to the FBI.

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.

The abuse occurred in areas of the jail that did not have surveillance cameras.

Bruce also lied to the FBI when he denied taking pictures of inmates in their cells, acknowledging that he had, in fact, photographed two female inmates asleep on a bed in their cell.

Bruce was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

In addition, Bruce will never serve in law enforcement again and will submit to federal and state sex offender registration requirements.

In a statement, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez said, ‘Every person in official custody has the right to bodily integrity, and namely to be free from sexual assaults by corrections officers.’

U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Kenneth J. Gonzales said, ‘Every person in lock-up, regardless of the charge or crime of conviction, is entitled to be safe and certainly should never be victimized by the law enforcement officers responsible for guarding them.’

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