Ex-LA County Sheriff's Deputy Sentenced For Trying To Obstruct Federal Jail Probe
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was sentenced Monday to 1 1/2 years in federal prison for trying to derail a federal probe into deputy-on-inmate violence in county jails.
James Sexton, 29, is "totally unrepentant" and "embarrassed not only the sheriff's department, but every man and woman who puts on that badge every morning," U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson said.
Sexton, the seventh and final ex-deputy to be sentenced in the case, declined to make a statement in court. His attorney, who argued for a six-month prison term, told the judge that his client played only a minor role in the conspiracy, and no harm was done to society as a result of Sexton's actions.
The judge, with a raised voice, said such a position was "flat-out wrong," and the case helped contribute to an "erosion of public trust in our institutions – and you don't have to look very far to see that's true."
Sexton tried to hold up a federal investigation of the jail system by using the jailhouse computer system to falsify or omit identifying characteristics of an inmate working as an FBI informant, in effect "hiding" the inmate during a two-week period in August 2011 when federal officials wanted to interview the prisoner.
The former deputy – whose family members worked in law enforcement – was found guilty of federal conspiracy and obstruction-of-justice counts in September, four months after his first trial ended in a 6-6 deadlock.
Jurors determined that Sexton covertly worked to block the jails investigation, rejecting the defense argument that the deputy was merely following lawful orders from higher-ups to keep the informant safe from deputies and other inmates.
Ex-Undersheriff Paul Tanaka testified that while he didn't give the order to change inmate informant Anthony Brown's name or booking number, he didn't object. Tanaka also said that he was kept fully apprised of Brown's status.
Sexton did not testify at either of his trials, but jurors heard his own words in read-backs of testimony he gave to a grand jury investigating allegations of jailhouse corruption.
His co-defendants were convicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging from nearly two years to almost 3 1/2 years.
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