Ex-Jail Lieutenant Convicted Of Sexually Abusing Female Inmates

SUNSET PARK, NY — A former lieutenant at a Sunset Park jail was convicted this week of sexually abusing five female inmates over a three year period, federal prosecutors said.

A jury found Eugenio Perez, 47, guilty of forcing the five inmates to perform sexual acts while incarcerated inside the Metropolitan Detention Center. He faces up to life in prison for the crime.

"Perez was a calculating predator who brazenly abused the authority of his position and betrayed his oath as a correctional officer when he sexually abused women under his control and entrusted to his care," said U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue in a statement issued after Monday's conviction.

Perez was indicted last year along with fellow lieutenant Carlos Richard Martinez and guard Armando Moronta who were accused of raping and abusing inmates while at the jail.

All three were suspended without pay after their indictments and Martinez was convicted of rape in January. He also faces up to life in prison.

From January 2013 to September 2016, Perez forced five female inmates to perform sexual acts with him in the jail by arranging for them to clean the lieutenants' offices alone, prosecutors said.

Perez — who was responsible for training guards on the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) — would threaten women if they didn't comply or told anybody what happened, authorities said.

The indictments of sexual abuse came after a report by several judges found "third world" conditions for prisoners inside the Metropolitan Detention Center.

That report found women crammed inside of rooms with no windows and no chance to go outside for exercise, prompting a federal judge to order a hearing based on the jail's conditions in 2016.

Image: U.S. Attorney's Office