'Depraved' female prison guard sentenced for sex with inmate

Prison guard Tina Gonzalez, who had sex with an inmate in full view of 11 others. Photo / Fresno County Sheriff's Office

A "depraved" former correctional officer in California will serve 210 days in prison, followed by two years of probation, after she had sex with an inmate in full view of 11 others.

Fresno County jail's Tina Gonzalez was sentenced for the act – as well as for providing the inmate with drugs and a mobile phone – on Thursday, after investigations began into her conduct in December 2019.

The 26-year-old also allegedly gave the inmate razor blades and critical jail intelligence.

"At times, [she] 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 actions.

Fresno County assistant sheriff Steve McComas accused of her putting her fellow correctional officers at risk, betraying her oath and behaving in some of the most disgraceful ways he'd seen and heard in 26 years in the sheriff's office.

"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," he said.

Prison guard Tina Gonzalez, who had sex with an inmate in full view of 11 others. Photo / Fresno County Sheriff's Office

He revealed that Gonzalez's behaviour lasted more than a year before investigators caught her, and phone calls after her December 2019 arrest showed it had continued.

"She has shown no remorse. She continually calls, has sexually explicit conversations with the inmate in question, and even boasts about the crimes she carried out. [It] shows that she's incapable of owning up to her mistakes and will undoubtedly continue in the future," he said.

Gonzalez's lawyer, Martin Taleisnik, told the court that "it was never her intention to bring any harm or danger to the employees in the jail or anyone else in the jail".

He added that his client took responsibility for her actions, but that the recent end of her marriage at the time the behaviour took place had made her vulnerable.

In his sentencing, Judge Michael Idiart noted that Gonzalez had no prior criminal history and had admitted her crimes.

"I think what you did was terrible, stupid," he 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."