A former Reno County Sheriff Jail Deputy convicted on charges associated with unlawful sexual relations with inmates inside the Reno County Jail was sentenced Friday to 64-months in prison.
Jonathon Diaz had waived his right to a preliminary hearing and entered “guilty” pleas to three counts of unlawful sexual relations and two counts of bribery. He then entered “no contest” pleas to two counts of aggravated intimidation of a witness.
Judge Chambers sentenced Diaz on each count of unlawful sexual relations to 32-months, the two counts of aggravated intimidation of a witness to 18-months each, and the two counts of bribery to 12-months each.
Judge Chambers ran the sentences consecutive to each other, but because of what is called the “double rule,” he can’t sentence him to more then double the “primary offense” which was the first count of unlawful sexual relations. That means Diaz will serve a sentence of 64-months in prison.
Diaz apologized to the victims, the citizen’s of Reno County and his fellow officers in the Sheriff’s Department. This after his attorney, Blake Cooper argued for a departure to some form of probation. That was denied by the judge.
District Attorney Keith Schroeder disputed the defense claim that these crimes were not crimes of violence. He says Diaz told some of the victims that if they said anything, he would kill them.
Judge Chambers told Diaz he not only ruined his reputation, but also the reputation of the others in the Sheriff’s Department. He also noted that an evaluation showed he sees women only in a sexual way.
The charges against Diaz were filed by the state after a nearly 2-week internal investigation ordered by Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson. Some inmates complained of the allegations of Diaz touching them and also requesting that they expose themselves to him, and also that they engage in sexual activity while he watched.
Because of his law enforcement background, its likely he’ll served the time in a prison out of state.