Prison official convicted of abusing female inmates

A federal correction officer at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park who forced female inmates into performing sex acts was convicted of sex abuse and faces the possibility of life in prison when he is sentenced, according to prosecutors.

Lieutenant Eugenio Perez was found guilty on May 14 of several crimes, including aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a ward, attempted sexual abuse of a ward, abusive sexual contact and deprivation of civil rights, by a jury following a two-week trial in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Perez, 47, brazenly used his position as a lieutenant at the Metropolitan Detention Center to force the victims into having sex with him on several occasions during a three-year period between January, 2013 and September, 2016, according to evidence presented at the trial.

The victims, who were identified in the indictment as “Jane Doe #1” through “Jane Doe #5,” testified at the trial that Perez lured them into isolated situations by arranging for them to clean the lieutenants’ office at night. Perez used physical force and intimidation to compel the victims to engage in various sexual acts with him, including oral sex.

The shocking case was prosecuted by the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Following the verdict, U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue called Perez “a calculating predator” who “brazenly abused the authority of his position and betrayed his oath as a correctional officer when he sexually abused women under his control and entrusted to his care.”

Perez used his position as a correction officer to bully the women into submission, according to FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney.

“Perez violated the civil rights of several women who reasonably believed he could adversely exercise disciplinary authority over them should they not obey his demand. “Sexual abuse—in any form or fashion—is an inexcusable crime, especially when it involves such disgraceful behavior committed by a federal employee,” Sweeney said.

Perez will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto, who presided over the trial.