NJ Corrections Officer Says He Had Sex With Inmates: Prosecutor

A corrections officer faces jail time after admitted that he had sex with at least two inmates, authorities announced this weekend.

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.

His guilty plea stems from his employment as a senior corrections officer when he was assigned to the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, New Jersey’s only prison for female inmates, according to the HCPO.

Mercado admitted during his guilty plea before Judge Angela F. Borkowski that he had sexual intercourse with two different inmates within the time period of February 2013 and October 2015, according to the HCPO.

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

Mercado joins the ranks of four other individuals employed at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women recently convicted of official misconduct based on sexual acts with inmates.

Institutional Trade Instructor Joel Herscap was sentenced to three years in prison in January 2017. Four months later, Senior Corrections Officer Thomas Seguine was also sentenced to three years in prison. In May 2018 Senior Corrections Officer Jason Mays was convicted at trial of two counts of official misconduct, one count of sexual assault, one count of criminal sexual contact and one count of engaging in a pattern of official misconduct.

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."

"The public trust is violated and everyone is betrayed when a sworn law enforcement officer violates the oath he or she has vowed to uphold," he said.

HCPO photo