Just after the San Mateo County district attorney declined to press charges for an alleged sexual assault Dec. 2 between two incarcerated people, the sheriff said her office took immediate steps upon learning what happened.
Sheriff Christina Corpus said her office opened a criminal investigation and an internal investigation; provided resources to the alleged victim, including medical care, mental health support and sexual assault resources; personnel issues were addressed; and policies and procedures will be reviewed at correctional facilities.
The alleged assault occurred on an elevator and in a hallway during an inmate transfer, where five inmates, including the female victim and male defendant, were being moved by a deputy sheriff. On the surveillance video, the deputy sheriff — who was standing the other way — did not notice an altercation of a sexual nature occurring and the victim did not alert him or anyone else to the situation or have a visible reaction, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
From footage, it seemed as though the other inmates might have seen that an incident of a sexual nature was occurring “based on the way they were looking and acting” but also said nothing, Wagstaffe said.
The victim said that the act of penetrative sexual assault was not consensual when she reported it after the fact and the defendant said it was consensual, Wagstaffe said.
But because of the surveillance footage, the DA’s Office does not have enough evidence that the incident was nonconsensual to prosecute, Wagstaffe said.
“This is not critical of her,” he previously said. “There’s no way we could prove this was an act against [her] will.”
Both parties did not know each other that the DA’s Office is aware of, Wagstaffe said.
He acknowledged that the deputy sheriff seemed to have committed a dereliction of duty by not being aware of the incident but said it was not within the prosecutorial jurisdiction of the DA’s Office.
Corpus said the Sheriff’s Office thoroughly investigated the case and presented it to the District Attorney’s Office.
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