Prison Guard Sentenced for Having Sex with Inmate

BEDFORD, NY — A prison guard was sentenced Wednesday to one to three years in prison for having sex with an inmate.

Acting Westchester County District Attorney James A. McCarty said Rasheen Smalls, 35, of Warburton Avenue in Yonkers, had been found guilty July 1, 2016, by a jury, of third-degree criminal sexual act, a felony, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor.

McCarty said Smalls was on duty as a corrections officer July 28, 2015, around 6 p.m. at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in the Town of Bedford when engaged in oral sexual conduct with the victim in a utility closet.

The sexual contact occurred when the victim was incapable of consent since she was an inmate committed to the care and custody of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, McCarty said.

As part of his job, Smalls received training on the inappropriateness, illegality and avoidance of personal relationships with inmates, as well as the illegality of officers having sex with inmates.

“The defendant engaged in this misconduct purely for his own personal satisfaction and abused his authority and position as a state corrections officer,” McCarty said.

Smalls will also have to register as a sex offender.

He was remanded to the custody of the New York State Department of Corrections.

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