(KRON) -- A former prison guard, who was in charge of disciplining inmates at Federal Correction Institution in Dublin, became the 10th correctional officer convicted of sexually abusing female inmates.
Former Bureau of Prisons (BOP) correctional officer David Perez pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexually abusing two female inmates, and lying to FBI agents, prosecutors said.
Inmates endured rampant abuse inside FCI Dublin for years until the warden and several guards were arrested by the FBI.
Perez was charged earlier this year. "He is the tenth correctional officer to have either pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial as part of an ongoing federal investigation into sexual abuse of inmates at FCI Dublin," the U.S. Attorney Northern District of California wrote.
Perez was employed by BOP between 1994 to 2019. From 2014 until August 2019, he served as a Discipline Hearing Officer (DHO) at FCI Dublin. "In that role, he was responsible for adjudicating disciplinary actions against inmates who allegedly engaged in misconduct while in prison and issuing punishment if he found them guilty," prosecutors wrote.
One female inmate, who was required to appear at four disciplinary hearings, was sexually abused by Perez when he met with her alone in the Captain's Complex.
A second inmate was abused in the same complex after Perez found her guilty of of misconduct. "Perez began calling her to meet with him alone in the Captain’s Complex. During those meetings, Perez complimented her looks, asked her to show him her breasts, and on one occasion told her that he had the power to add or subtract time from her sentence," prosecutors wrote.
He later lied to FBI agents when they interrogated him about his conduct with inmates in the prison, prosecutors said.
Perez, who is currently out of custody, will be sentenced on March 25, 2027 by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
After failed attempts to change the prison’s toxic culture and re-train the guards in hopes of preventing future abuse, federal prison officials ultimately decided to close FCI Dublin permanently in 2024.
