OAKLAND — Two more former correctional officers pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually abusing female inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, prosecutors said.
Jeffrey Wilson, 34, and Lawrence Gacad, 33, are the eighth and ninth ex-prison guards to have either pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial as part of an ongoing probe into sexual abuse of inmates at FCI Dublin, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In addition, Wilson admitted to lying to federal agents about having sexual contact with his victim.
Both men were released on bond. Wilson is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 6 and Gacad on Nov. 19.
Wilson was employed from July 2021 to September 2022 as a correctional officer at the prison, where he served as a health technician/paramedic, prosecutors said. In that role, he was responsible for providing emergency assessment and medical care to inmates.
In August 2021, Wilson began interacting with an inmate after she started taking medication prescribed to her for seizures. He encouraged her to transfer from the prison to a camp where there were fewer medical personnel who would see their interactions.
Prosecutors said Wilson admitted to engaging in sexual acts on multiple occasions with the victim. He also gave her a $60 pre-paid credit card and a cellphone while she was at the camp. She used the phone to take naked pictures of herself and send them to Wilson.
Gacad worked as a correctional officer at FCI Dublin from July 2021 to June 2022. Between March and June 2022, he kissed and groped an inmate who lived in one of the housing units he was sometimes assigned to guard, according to prosecutors.
He admitted to exchanging handwritten notes and emails with the victim, some of which were sexually explicit.
Gacad resigned from the Bureau of Prisons after the abuse was discovered, but he continued to trade emails with the victim and speak with her on video chats she had with her parents.
On June 25, Wilson was charged with five counts of sexual abuse of a ward and one count of making false statements, and Gacad was charged with one count of abusive sexual contact.
Wilson faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each count of sexual abuse of a ward and eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the count of making false statements. Gacad, meanwhile, faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the count of abusive sexual contact.
“There is zero tolerance for federal correctional officers who violate their positions of trust and authority,” U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian said in a statement. “And that is especially true where they use those positions to sexually abuse individuals in their custody.”
“Our investigations remain ongoing,” he continued, “and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who engages in these despicable acts.”
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