Three correction officers were charged in separate indictments on Thursday, accused of sexually abusing female inmates inside a Brooklyn federal jail, prosecutors said.
The correction officers, two of them lieutenants and the third an officer with the Bureau of Prisons, are accused of using threats and physical violence to intimidate nine female inmates, per prosecutors.
Lt. Carlos Richard Martinez, Lt. Eugenio Perez and officer Armando Moronta were arrested early Thursday on numerous charges, including aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact.
Martinez, 47, of Brooklyn, allegedly targeted a single inmate and used her fear of being sent to the Special Housing Unit to repeatedly rape her at least 10 times over the course of five months, from December 2015 to April 2016.
He also posted a picture on Facebook of himself posing with two other men believed to be jail staffers with the caption, “It’s only PREA when you don’t like it,” according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Martinez was responsible for training officers in PREA, which stands for the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act.
“By using their authority and power to prey upon and abuse female inmates in their care, these defendants violated their oaths of public service as well as numerous criminal laws,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Rohde said in a statement.
The indictments, unsealed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, follow a nearly yearlong investigation into the allegations at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Greenwood.
Between 2013 and 2016, prosecutors said Perez, 46, of Brooklyn, engaged in sex acts with five different women at MDC. Perez allegedly used his position as a lieutenant to arrange for the women to clean his office alone at night, and would then use threats and physical force to sexually abuse them.
Moronta, meanwhile, is accused of targeting three women in just one month, between May and June 2016. Prosecutors said the 39-year-old Brooklyn resident engaged in criminal sexual contact with the inmates, including oral sex, while he was assigned to guard their unit.
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney called the conduct alleged in the indictments unacceptable.
“As alleged, those charged today trapped their victims in a cycle of fear and intimidation while carrying out various acts of sexual abuse,” Sweeney said in a statement. “This type of conduct is never acceptable, especially at the hands of those who misuse the power afforded them as public servants.”
Martinez, Perez and Moronta pleaded not guilty and were held after brief court hearings late on Thursday. Although Perez hopes to present a bail package on Friday, the government filed memos asking for all three to be denied bail.
All three have been suspended without pay, Rohde said.
The Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on the charges. “We are aware of the allegations and are taking appropriate steps concerning the employment status of the employees,” said a spokesman.
With Newsday
