Jailers Arrested for Having Sex with Inmates

LIBERTY, July 4, 2008 - On the evening of Wednesday, July 2nd, the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office arrested three correctional officers, at the Liberty County Jail. The three were taken into custody while they were on duty. The arrests stem from a joint investigation between the Sheriff’s Office and C.E.C., the private company that manages the county jail. The investigation was initiated six weeks ago, when information was received by Sheriff’s investigators about possible sexual activity between correctional officers and inmates. Leading the investigation was Captain Chip Fairchild and Sergeant Billy Knox, from the Sheriff’s Office, along with C.E.C’s Chief of Security, Melvin Readenour. The three investigators also made the arrests.

Angelia Perales	Techa Fowler	Tynisha Pierre

The three correctional officers arrested were:

• Angelia Perales, 43, of Liberty
• Techa Fowler, 24, of Houston
• Tynisha Pierre, 30, of Crosby

All three are charged with Violation of the Civil Rights of a Person in Custody, a State Jail Felony. The arrest warrants were issued by Bobby Rader, Justice of the Peace, Pct. 1. Judge Rader also arraigned and set the bonds for all three.

Sheriff Greg Arthur said, “This type of offense is taken very seriously. Not only is it a violation of law, policies and procedures, it puts the safety of all people in the correctional facility at risk. If they are at risk, then the public is subsequently at risk. The Sheriff’s Office and C.E.C. will always actively pursue any allegations of wrongdoing in our facilities.” The investigation is ongoing. Sheriff Arthur stated further, “Other charges against the three are possible. We’ll also be pursuing disciplinary measures for any jail personnel that had knowledge, but weren’t directly involved in the violations.”