Officer pleads guilty to lying about ‘sexual contact’ with inmate at CA jail, feds say

A correctional officer at a federal jail in California pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about performing sex acts with an inmate he supervised, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

The officer, 53-year-old Abel Concho, was employed by the Bureau of Prisons and worked in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, the statement said. The victim is an inmate who was in Concho’s care and supervision from June 2010 to February 2011.

He reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors on Nov. 8.

In an interview with federal investigators in July 2021, he said that he had “never” had “sexual contact” with the inmate in question, when authorities say he had actually performed sex acts with the inmate at least 35 times, according to the statement.

After that initial denial, “Concho then falsely stated that he had sexual intercourse with the victim just ‘once (or) twice’ that he could recall,” according to the statement.

He also lied multiple times about smuggling a cellphone into the facility and providing it to the inmate so they could take nude photos for him, the statement said.

Concho admitted in his plea agreement that he knew his behavior constituted a federal crime and could lead to his termination as an employee of the Bureau of Prisons, the statement said. He also admitted to knowing that sexual interaction between a corrections officer and an inmate could not be considered consensual under both the law and the Bureau of Prisons’ code of conduct.

As part of his plea agreement, Concho agreed to not seek employment in law enforcement or any job that requires possession of a firearm. He must also complete 100 hours of community service and pay $9,500 in restitution to the victim.

Concho will have a sentencing hearing on Feb. 7, 2022, where he will face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, the statement said.

This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Officer pleads guilty to lying about ‘sexual contact’ with inmate at CA jail, feds say."