Kansas juvenile facility employee charged with having sexual relations with teenager
A former corrections officer at the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex has been arrested for allegedly having unlawful sexual relations with a teen at the prison.
Pedro Cruz-Garcia, 25, was booked into the Shawnee County Detention Center on Sunday evening, according to jail records. He was released Sunday night after posting a $50,000 bond.
He is charged with having unlawful sexual relations as a department of corrections employee with a victim who was 16 years old or older. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 24.
“The conduct is reprehensible,” Kansas Secretary of Corrections Jeff Zmuda said in a statement. “His behavior does not represent the standards of the department nor the commitment of our departments workforce to protect our residents from harm.”
Cruz-Garcia was fired on Feb. 11 following an investigation after a staff member heard other residents at the correctional center talking about Cruz-Garcia and the victim, said Carol Pitts, a spokeswoman with the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Marquetta Atkins, the executive director of Progeny, an organization that advocates for juvenile justice reform, said the incident is just one example of the trauma young people in prisons face.
“From sexual abuse like this to other physical and mental abuses, the conditions within these facilities could not be farther from promoting healing and growth,” Atkins said in a statement. “It’s past time leaders stop funding the dehumanizing practice of locking up our children away from their families and communities, and redirect that funding into the services that will bring them real healing, including mental health services, quality education, and recreational opportunities.”
This is not the first time an employee at the facility has been criminally charged for their conduct.
In 2019, Kyle Rohr, the former superintendent of the facility, pleaded no-contest to disorderly conduct. Rohr was found guilty in 2018 by a municipal court after he was accused of grabbing and shoving a female employee.
Rohr was fired following his conviction.
This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 8:05 AM.
