County oversight panel presses DA on PREA cases after repeated allegations of sexual assault and retaliation in jails

Chairperson opened the Civil Brand Commission meeting by noting eight deaths in custody since the last meeting and moved early to Item 5, which centered on allegations of sexual assault and harassment inside county jails. Commissioners described repeated, graphic accounts collected during inspections — including women and transgender people reporting deputies watching showers, alleged assaults in hallways with cameras off, and retaliation after filing complaints.

Commander Raul Garcia, who oversees the sheriff’s department PREA unit, outlined the department’s complaint pathway: allegations are entered into a PREA tracking system, a PREA compliance manager (typically a sergeant) begins the inquiry, and cases are routed either to the jail investigations unit (inmate‑on‑inmate) or to internal affairs/internal criminal investigations (staff‑on‑inmate). Garcia said the department is expanding training for PREA compliance managers and adding a lieutenant to provide higher‑level review prior to facility captain determinations.

Commissioners and public commenters said those steps have not produced timely or protective outcomes for survivors. “We have spoken directly to women who have shared cases of assault that have happened directly by deputies,” the chair said, summarizing multiple inspection reports. Commissioner Miller noted victims often cannot provide precise timestamps because of trauma; he urged investigative policies that account for trauma‑informed best practices rather than demanding exact clock‑times before pursuing inquiries.

District Attorney D.A. Hoffman told the commission he had visited Men’s Central Jail and called the facility’s condition “a travesty.” He described the DA’s unit structure — specialized units for crimes against victims and a head deputy for those units — and explained prosecutorial thresholds: proving crimes beyond a reasonable doubt typically requires corroboration such as contemporaneous statements or video. Hoffman said his office does not generally conduct original investigation but will review referrals and will not hesitate to prosecute deputies if evidence supports criminal charges. He offered a direct pipeline for the commission to bring cases to the DA’s office and identified Guillermo Santiso as the deputy who heads the relevant unit.

Several commissioners urged the DA to consider more proactive investigative tools, including impaneling a grand jury, given allegations that institutional investigators are the subject of complaints. Commissioners also requested the DA’s victim services bureau and the head of the DA’s crimes unit return to the commission to report on follow‑up actions and outreach to incarcerated victims.

Public commenters urged stronger accountability than informal supervisor counseling: “Pulling an officer aside and telling them to be nicer … is demonstrating a complete lack of care for the actual problem,” Marcela Rosen said during virtual comment. Berkeley Donovan of ACLU SoCal similarly called for the county and the sheriff’s department to take the commission’s findings seriously and to ensure corrective action is publicly documented.

The commission recorded several follow‑up requests and directions to staff: ask the DA’s office to return with the head of the relevant crimes unit and with victim services representatives; request written corrective action plans from the sheriff’s department for specific inspection findings; and consider whether the DA will use a grand jury or other investigatory mechanisms for systemic complaints.

The commission’s discussion made a clear procedural distinction between discussion (reports of incidents and systemic concerns), direction (requests for written corrective action plans and scheduling DA follow‑ups), and formal action (no criminal charges or votes were recorded by the commission during this meeting). The DA reiterated his office’s willingness to receive and screen referrals but emphasized that successful prosecutions typically need corroborating evidence such as contemporaneous statements or video.

What’s next: commissioners asked staff to schedule the DA’s unit head and victim services representatives for a follow‑up meeting, and to provide the commission with timelines on PREA overhaul steps, PCM staffing numbers and average investigation completion times.