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LA jail scandal: Sheriff deputy found guilty of obstruction, conspiracy
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L.A. Sheriff's Deputy James Sexton (center) walks outside an L.A. court with his attorney and wife in May, after his first trial ended in a hung jury. Sexton was convicted after a second trial on September 16.
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L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy James Sexton was found guilty of obstruction of justice and conspiracy Tuesday in his second trial before a federal jury.
Sexton was accused, along with six former sheriff's department employees, of hatching a plot to thwart an FBI investigation into violence and corruption in L.A.'s County jails. Sexton's first trial, in May, ended in a hung jury. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced they'd retry him after securing convictions against six of his codefendants in July.
The crimes took place in 2011, when the FBI was investigating allegations of inmate beatings and corrupt deputies in L.A.'s downtown jails.
In August 2011, a group of deputies discovered a cellular phone in the cell of inmate Anthony Brown, and traced numbers on the phone and in Brown's jail phone call history to the FBI's civil rights division. Upon questioning, Brown admitted to working as an informant for the FBI--and that his phone had been part of a sting that netted the arrest of a deputy who'd smuggled it in for cash.
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What happened next is what prosecutors described as an elaborate conspiracy to shut down the federal investigation into jail abuses — and what defense attorneys have called a legitimate investigation into the FBI's dealings in the jail.
A group of deputies, including Sexton, proceeded to hide Brown and move him from jail to jail under fake names, fudging records to make it look like he'd been released.
Sexton's attorneys argued he'd been following orders from higher ups in the department to keep Brown safe and isolated while the sheriff's department investigated the FBI for introducing contraband into the jail.
Prosecutors have not said what punishment they'll seek against Sexton. His codefendants are due for sentencing September 22. The U.S. Attorney's Office, in court papers, has asked for sentences ranging from 28 to 60 months in federal prison.
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