BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — During his brief employment as a Kern County detentions deputy, Brandon Lawrence preyed on the women housed at Lerdo Jail.
He propositioned multiple inmates, following them into closets or leading them into offices for sexual encounters. He created a fake Facebook account to send incarcerated women messages, and used a law enforcement database to look them up without a valid reason.
Lawrence, 21 at the time, claimed the encounters were consensual. At least some of the women disagreed, describing their humiliation and anger to investigators.
On Tuesday, a Superior Court judge rejected an earlier court-indicated plea that would have resulted in no time in custody for Lawrence and sentenced him to 180 days in jail, plus two years’ probation. He also must undergo psychiatric counseling.
The District Attorney’s office had sought a two-year prison term. Prosecutor Ken Russell objected to the sentence Tuesday as, even though it included jail time, it was still below what they were seeking.
Lawrence pleaded no contest in October to every charge against him — three counts of sexual activity with an inmate and one count of attempted sexual activity with an inmate — in what’s known as an “open plea.”
Judge Eric Bradshaw initially indicated he would not impose any time in custody, but spent a week reconsidering his position after prosecutors noted the imbalance of power between a detentions deputy and the people whom they oversee.
Bradshaw noted that...
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