Another Texas Jail Scandal: Six Harris County Jail Employees Fired in Sex With Inmates Misconduct Charges

The disrepute of Texas Jails just got bigger since it’s becoming national news that over in Houston, six employees at the Harris County Jail have been fired from their jobs because of allegations of sexual misconduct and failure to take actions to stop the misconduct on the part of those that should have done so.

Story goes, according to Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, that there were jail workers who were having sex with female inmates in the jail laundry rooms. That this was happening isn’t big news now: back in February a Harris County Deputy Sheriff was fired and indicted after an investigation that began back in August 2011. During that investigation, another deputy sheriff quit and one of the supervisors being investigated took retirement.

What happened last Friday was that the investigation by the Office of the Inspector General was completed, and with Sheriff Garcia publicly denouncing what happened as “inexcusable” and “intolerable,” more people got axed. One supervisor and four detention officers were terminated last Friday.

The investigation began after a Harris County Jail inmate, Amber Guidry, stood up for those who are incarcerated in the Harris County Jail (and arguably, elsewhere) by telling people that a jailer named Tony Richards had sexually harassed her and groped her, as well, not just once but “constantly.” Guidry testified before a grand jury and Richards was the jailer who was fired last February as a result. (He’s now facing criminal charges.)

Oh, and the Sheriff is going to add some video cams into those jail laundry rooms. Not that anyone would ever want to have themselves videotaped while having sex, right? Well, maybe not if the Sheriff is gonna be watching….

Think on this:  according to the Houston Chronicle’s investigations, the Harris County Jail has had over 20 officers and civilians either suspended without pay or fired for having inappropriate relations or contact with inmates over the past five years (since 2007).  That averages out to catching someone doing this to a female inmate once every 90 days.

What’s inappropriate here?  Doing things like kissing, intimate touching, indecent exposure, providing contraband or engaging in sexual relations (as described in the Harris County records).  It is not known how many female inmates were victims of these sexual assaults and / or harassment because the number of victims has not been released by Harris County.  It is known that this all took place at the minimum security facility laundry room or the detention center laundry room at the Baker Street jails.

Just because you or a loved one must spend time behind bars here in a Texas Jail does not mean that you should not be given respect and treated with dignity – especially as a female who is incarcerated and powerless in a facility overseen by men carrying weapons and holding power.   This is against the law.