Jail Employee Charged with Sexual Assault of Inmate

ROCKVILLE, MD — A jail officer has been charged with sexually assaulting a female inmate in the Montgomery County Detention Center in Rockville.

Omotunde Rauf Sanusi, 40, of the 11200 block of Evans Trail in Beltsville was arrested Tuesday for having inappropriate contact with a 23-year-old female inmate while he worked as a correctional officer for the Montgomery County Department of Corrections.

Montgomery County Police were called to the detention center on Sept. 28, 2015, on a report that a guard had sexually assaulted the woman.

Investigators say Sanusi entered the victim’s cell to transport her to court. The inmate said that while Sanusi was in her cell, he sexually assaulted her.

Investigators took DNA evidence from the victim and submitted it for analysis. A search warrant allowed police to take a sample of Sanusi’s DNA.

During the investigation, correctional officials said that Sanusi had no contact with inmates.

Earlier this month, detectives were notified that the DNA evidence collected from the victim matched Sanusi’s DNA.

On Monday, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Sanusi, charging him with one count of third-degree sex offense, one count of second-degree assault, one count of malfeasance in office, and one count of sexual conduct between a correctional officer and an inmate.

He was arrested at the Montgomery County Detention Center and is being held on a $150,000 bond.

»Photo of suspect Omotunde Rauf Sanusi, courtesy of Montgomery County Police