Jail Guard From Bergen Admits Having Sex With Inmates: Prosecutor

A corrections officer from Bergen County faces jail time after admitting he had sex with at least two inmates at a women's prison, authorities Friday.

Joel Mercado, 38, of Lyndhurst pleaded guilty to two counts of official misconduct after admitting he had sex with female inmates at a woman's prison, according to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office.

Mercado admitted during his guilty plea before Judge Angela F. Borkowski he had sexual intercourse with different inmates between February 2013 and October 2015 at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, New Jersey's only prison for women inmates, according to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office.

As a result of his guilty plea, he is facing three years in prison. He must also forfeit his employment and pension with the state, according to the HCPO.

The sexual intercourse occurred in the housing unit where he was assigned to work and where the inmates resided, according to the HCPO.

Mercado was arrested in May of 2017 by detectives from the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office's Special Victims Unit and members of the New Jersey Department of Corrections Special Investigations Division. He was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into sexual abuse of inmates.

Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns said corrections officers "must carry out the duty of ensuring the welfare, safety and security of the inmates they are employed to supervise. All inmates have a right to be safe within the institutions where we as a society demand they be detained."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: Joel Mercado, 38, of Lyndhurst (Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office)