A newly hired San Francisco sheriff’s deputy was fired after allegedly engaging in “sexual misconduct” in a jail bathroom with an incarcerated person, according to the sheriff’s department spokesperson.
A spokesperson for the Public Defender’s Office called the case a “nonconsensual” sexual assault, and confirmed that the office is representing the alleged victim, a transgender woman. The office said it first reported the alleged assault to the sheriff’s department.
“She’s extremely scared for her safety and wellbeing,” the public defender’s spokesperson said. “Our office is really concerned about the safety of transgender women and women in general who are in custody.”
Neither department confirmed whether the alleged victim is still in jail.
The Sheriff’s Office did not confirm the identity of the former deputy, but multiple sources pointed to a newly sworn 33-year-old as the perpetrator. That deputy was banned from entering San Francisco’s jails on Oct. 10, according to an internal sheriff’s memo obtained by Mission Local. Such memos are typically sent out when an employee leaves the department.
The deputy joined the department in June 2024 and became a full-fledged deputy in January. For more than a year prior, he served as a sheriff’s cadet and before that was a sheriff’s “property keeper” guarding seized property starting in March 2022, according to the Department of Human Resources.
In the Oct. 10 memo, the deputy was listed as “no longer employed” by the sheriff’s department.
Requests for comment sent to a phone number associated with the deputy in question received no response. On Wednesday, his Facebook account was deactivated.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tara Moriarty said the office “took immediate action to ensure that the deputy had no further inmate contact” after it was notified about the incident, which Moriarty said allegedly occurred on Sept. 19 in a bathroom at County Jail No. 2. That jail, located at Seventh and Bryant streets, is where the majority of transgender people are incarcerated in San Francisco.
Moriarty said that the department then conducted a preliminary criminal investigation, which led to the firing of the deputy, who she said was still in their probationary first year of employment. The department also notified the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, which can investigate allegations of serious misconduct and decertify peace officers.
“Serious misconduct like this has no place in our agency and will not be tolerated,” Moriarty said. “No member of this office is above the law, and anyone who violates standards of conduct must be held accountable.”
Moriarty said additional information could not be provided so as not to jeopardize the investigation. Once the investigation is complete, she said the sheriff’s department will present the case to the District Attorney’s Office.
This story was updated to reflect that the Public Defender’s Office first reported the alleged incident to the Sheriff’s Office.
Might want to look for hiring research and maybe previous work evaluations…?