Driving Instructor At Niantic Prison Charged With Sexually Assaulting Inmate: State Police

EAST LYME, CT — A man who worked as a commercial driver license instructor at York Correctional Institution in Niantic is accused of sexually assaulting an inmate.

Edgardo Luis Cruz, 48, of Colchester, was arrested Sept. 21 on a warrant and charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, according to state police.

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Staff at York Correctional, the state's prison for female inmates, contacted state police in February. Detectives with the Eastern District Major Crime Squad launched an investigation.

According to state police, Cruz engaged in inappropriate sexual touching with an inmate enrolled in his class.

The woman told investigators they had a flirtatious relationship and later developed feelings for each other, an arrest warrant affidavit shows.

When questioned, Cruz denied touching the victim inappropriately, and asserted his only physical contact with inmates consisted of handshakes or fist bumps.

During their investigation, police reviewed surveillance footage, according to the warrant. According to state police, the footage was "consistent with and corroborates the victim's statements regarding the inappropriate physical contact."

State police said inmates are legally incapable of consenting to sexual contact with Department of Correction employees, and Cruz was in a position of authority and supervision over the inmate in his role as an instructor.

Andrius Banevicius, a spokesman for the state Department of Correction, said Cruz was hired as a vocational instructor in September 2023.

Cruz was put on paid administrative leave in February, and then terminated from state service on March 4, according to Banevicius.

"The Connecticut Department of Correction has a zero-tolerance policy – in accordance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act - for any sexual abuse or sexual harassment of any incarcerated individual," Banevicius said.

Cruz is free on a $25,000 bond and is due to appear in Superior Court in New London on Oct. 5.