Ex-correctional officer jailed for having sex with inmate, endangering officers abc30.com

Photo: Abc30

A former Fresno County jail officer is returning to her old job, but for the wrong reasons.

Trouble started in December of 2019 when a jail worker received a tip that a male inmate had a cell phone and was involved in a sexual relationship with Tina Gonzalez. An investigation was subsequently launched.

Investigators said they found the cellphone during a search of the inmate’s cell, and more evidence supporting the allegations made against Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, 27, admitted to three crimes – having sex with an inmate and providing him drugs and a cell phone. The sexual activity last more than a year before investigators caught her, according to the report.

Fresno County assistant sheriff Steve McComas says he’s seen and heard some disgusting things in 26 years at the sheriff’s office, but what Gozalez did is at the top of the list, according to Abc30.

“Cutting a hole in your pants to make it easier to have sex with an inmate and having intercourse in full view of 11 other inmates is something only a depraved mind could come up with,” McComas said.

He says Gonzalez betrayed her oath even worse when she put her fellow correctional officers at risk.

She gave the inmate razor blades, a cell phone, and critical jail intelligence, the report said.

“At times, communicated sensitive information to the inmate about individuals that were entering the inmate’s pod as well as times when the pod would be searched,” prosecutor Kaitlin Drake said of Gonzalez’s activity in the jail.

Gonzalez never said a word at her sentencing on Tuesday, but her attorney reportedly said that her marriage was falling apart because of what she did.

“The fact that she continually calls, has sexually explicit conversations with the inmate in question, and even boasts about the crimes she carried out shows that she’s incapable of owning up to her mistakes and will undoubtedly continue in the future,” Assistant Sheriff McComas said.

Gonzalez could have got up to 16 months sentence, but the Judge noted that she had no prior criminal history and admitted her crimes.

“I think what you did was terrible, stupid,” Judge Michael Idiart said. “You’ve ruined your career. You endangered your fellow officers. But I also believe that people can redeem themselves. You have the rest of your life to prove that.”

Gonzalez was sentenced to 210 days in prison.

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