Apolonio
Gamez, 40, of Lake Elsinore, was arrested Thursday afternoon and is expected to
make his initial court appearance this afternoon in United States District
Court in Riverside.
Gamez is
charged in a criminal complaint filed on Wednesday that accuses him one count
of sexual abuse of a ward.
According to
the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Gamez engaged in sexual
activity with one inmate on two occasions in September 2016 while he was on
duty as a correctional officer.
Gamez
allegedly directed a second female inmate to engage in a sexual act with him in
May 2017 after he caught her attempting to steal food from a storage facility.
Gamez alleged threated to send the victim to the “hole,” and then directed her
to engage in sexual activity, which the victim did not resist because “she felt
frozen and powerless with fear,” according to the affidavit.
The
complaint further alleges that Gamez exposed himself to a third inmate and
attempted to engage in a sexual act with her in the summer of 2017.
Gamez has
worked for the BOP at several California locations since August 2012. He has
been assigned to the Victorville complex since July 2016.
An
indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every
defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If he were
to be convicted of the charge in the complaint, Gamez would face a statutory
maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.
The case
against Gamez is being investigated by the Department of Justice Office of the
Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The
prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Julius J. Nam
and Sean Peterson of the Riverside Branch Office.
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