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A former corrections officer at the all-female Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin has been charged with sexually abusing two inmates in custody, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.
Ross Klinger, 36, of Riverside was charged with one count of sexual abuse of a ward, in violation of U.S.C. Section 2243(b), according to a complaint filed by Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds in the U.S District Court on June 25.
DOJ officials said in a statement that Klinger “knowingly had sexual intercourse with at least one inmate … under his custodial, supervisory, or disciplinary authority,” and was also sexually involved with another inmate.
The complaint alleges that Klinger had repeated sexual relations with one of the victims in a storage warehouse at FCI Dublin between April and October 2020.
After transferring to a different Bureau of Prisons facility in San Diego, Hinds alleged Klinger remained in contact with the victim via email and video chats, and used the alias “Juan Garcia.” Klinger also visited the victim’s family and gave money to her mother, as well as the other victim and their family, according to prosecutors.
“As a correctional officer, Klinger had disciplinary authority over inmates incarcerated at FCI Dublin,” officials said. “He received training that inappropriate relationships with inmates, including sexual or financial involvement, were prohibited.”
According to officials, Klinger also had sexual intercourse with a second inmate in a storage container at FCI Dublin while another inmate was on lookout. The victim was released to a halfway house but Hinds alleged Klinger stayed in contact via text message and social media, and even visited the victim at the halfway house, where they had sexual intercourse and Klinger proposed with a diamond ring.
Hinds also alleged Klinger “told both inmates that he wanted to father their children and that he made plans to marry them,” and gave both victims, and occasionally their families, “either money, gifts, or both.”
Officials from both the DOJ and FBI roundly condemned the allegations on Wednesday as “a disturbing deviation from the responsibilities of correctional officers,” and said “such an abuse of power will not be tolerated.”
“Prison officials are given great power over incarcerated individuals and are entrusted to use that power to ensure the care, safety, and control of the people placed under the government’s supervision,” Hinds said. “The abuse of these powers echoes through the entire criminal justice system and threatens to compromise the public’s trust in the system’s legitimacy.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig Fair said Klinger “took advantage of his role as an officer, entrusted to supervise inmates on behalf of the government, and instead displayed an egregious abuse of power.”
“The FBI will continue to work with our partners to investigate such violations of the law and hold those responsible accountable,” Fair said.
After being arrested, Klinger made an initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on June 30. Klinger has not been scheduled yet for his first appearance in the Northern District of California court. It was not immediately clear whether he is represented by an attorney.
If convicted, Klinger faces a maximum statutory sentence of 15 years imprisonment, a three-year term of supervised release and $250,000 fine.
