Bedford Hills Prison Guard Found Guilty of Having Sex with Inmate

White Plains, NY — A prison guard could face up to four years in prison for having sex with an inmate.

Acting Westchester County District Attorney James A. McCarty said Rasheen Smalls, 34, of Warburton Avenue in Yonkers, was convicted by a jury of third-degree criminal sexual act, a felony, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor.

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McCarty said Smalls was on duty as a corrections officer July 28, 2015, around 6:12 p.m. at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in the Town of Bedford when he entered a utility closet of one of the housing units with the victim and engaged in oral sexual conduct with her.

The sexual contact occurred at a time when the victim was incapable of consent by virtue of her being 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 was sent to the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla and is scheduled to be sentenced August 10, 2016.

He faces a sentence of between one and a half to four years in state prison.

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