Dublin prison cook 3rd officer to plead guilty in sex abuse scandal
DUBLIN, CA - MARCH 2: A cell at the Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin (FCI Dublin) is photographed in Dublin, Calif. on March 2, 2000. (Bea Ahbeck/Bay Area News Group archive)
OAKLAND, Calif. - A third correctional officer at the Federal Correctional Institute at Dublin is expected to plead guilty to having "abusive sexual contact" with incarcerated women, his lawyer told the court.
In an order submitted to U.S. District Court last month, Berkeley attorney Steven Kalar wrote that his client, Enrique Chavez, will plead guilty on Sept. 14 in Oakland.
That makes Chavez, who was a cook at the prison, the third correctional officer to plead guilty to having sexual relations with incarcerated women at FCI Dublin since five officers were charged last summer with sex crimes – the most of any prison in the United States.
According to the charges unsealed in March, Chavez engaged in intentional sexual contact with a woman twice in October 2020. The details have not been spelled out.
The former prison chaplain, James Highhouse, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years on Wednesday.
Correctional officer Ross Klinger, who worked in the recycling unit, has pleaded guilty, but has not yet been sentenced.
Former Warden Ray J. Garcia and John Russell Bellhouse, a prison safety administrator, are the only two of the five charged who have not pleaded guilty and their cases are headed to trial.
Court documents show that Chavez is now out of custody, living with his family in Fresno.
Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez