Corrections officer sexually assaults woman in Tennessee jail cell, officials say
A corrections officer accused of assaulting an inmate in her jail cell faces charges in Tennessee, officials say.
An investigation into David Berruquin’s conduct began April 5, when an inmate reported that the corrections officer had sexually assaulted her, authorities said.
Preliminary findings led the sheriff’s office to fire the 28-year-old corrections officer, the 7th Judicial District attorney general said in an April 15 news release.
Investigators searched a residence in Clinton the morning of April 13 and took him into custody that same day, the district attorney’s office said.
Officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations said they learned Berruquin had child sex abuse material and that he had brought a contraband telecommunications device into the detention facility.
“While I am extremely disappointed that a former Corrections Officer has been charged with a crime, I am very grateful to the employees at the Detention Facility who took an inmate’s complaint seriously,” Anderson County Sheriff Russell Barker said.
Berruquin was booked in the Anderson County Detention Facility on charges of introduction of contraband into a penal facility as well as sexual exploitation of a minor.
He was put “in a segregated cell for his safety” and bonded out the same day, authorities said. His attorney information is not available in county records.
“It is a somber day when we have to arrest one of our own, but it also demonstrates the conviction here that nobody is above the law,” 7th Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said.
Clark said he anticipates additional charges will be filed.
Clinton is the seat of Anderson County and is about a 20-mile drive northwest of Knoxville.
If you have experienced sexual assault and need someone to talk to, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline for support at 1-800-656-4673 or visit the hotline's online chatroom.
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