By T.J. Wilham
The Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Police say guard Anthony Townes knew places in the Camino Nuevo women’s prison that were not monitored by cameras - and that’s where he raped at least four inmates.
Townes, 33, was in custody late Wednesday at the West Side jail on four charges of criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contact and kidnapping. His bail has been set at $500,000 cash.
His initial hearing in Metropolitan Court has been rescheduled for today.
Authorities, who say they have evidence linking Townes to assaults dating back to February, are now testing DNA taken from one of the four female inmates and comparing it to Townes’.
“We have more than just the words of the victims,” said Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Detective Amy Dudewicz. “We have additional evidence that links him to the rapes. Even without the evidence, the statements given by the four inmates was good enough to execute an arrest.”
Sheriff’s Sgt. Rachel Azbill said investigators believe more women might come forward now that Townes has been charged.
Townes was placed on paid leave Aug. 17 following accusations that he was having sex with inmates.
Townes remains employed and paid by Corrections Corp. of America. A company spokesman said it was waiting for police to finish their investigation before deciding what to do about his employment.
According to a Metropolitan Court Criminal complaint:
A teacher at the prison overheard a conversation between two inmates in early August in which one of the inmates said she had DNA that proved she was having a sexual relationship with a correctional officer.
The teacher reported what she heard to her supervisors, who then put Townes on administrative leave and notified the sheriff’s department.
Days later, another inmate said she had been sexually assaulted by Townes four days earlier.
DNA samples were taken from that inmate and will be compared to Townes’ DNA, police said.
The woman told police that Townes ordered her to clean two pods at the prison. While she was walking to a corridor that led to the pods, Townes grabbed her and sexually assaulted her, the complaint states.
As police continued their investigation, more women started reporting to prison officials that they had been raped by Townes.
“These women were afraid to come forward before,” Dudewicz said in an interview. “They didn’t think anyone would believe them. When he was placed on leave, the flood gates opened. They felt they were safe.”
One woman, who was a porter at the prison, said Townes kept insisting that she come to an area near a break room that wasn’t monitored by cameras while she cleaned the administrative offices. Once she did, the woman said Townes assaulted her.
The woman told police she didn’t report the incident sooner because, “the administration really liked Townes and she was afraid they wouldn’t believe her,” according to the complaint.
Another woman reported that she had been sexually assaulted by Townes multiple times starting in February.
A fourth woman said Townes woke her up one night in late February and wanted her to come with him. The woman said she challenged Townes, who replied: “When a (correctional officer) tells you to do something, you do it.”
The woman said Townes took her to a corridor and sexually assaulted her. She also told police that she had seen Townes “sneaking woman out of their pods at night,” the complaint states.
Police said Townes retired from the Army last year. He was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso and decided to take a job at the prison in July 2006.
He moved his longtime girlfriend, who he met in the military, and their two children to Albuquerque.
Townes’ girlfriend moved out several months ago, police said.
Before joining the Army nearly a decade ago, Townes was a star athlete at his high school in Alliance, Ohio. He earned all-county and all-league honors as a wide receiver in high school before graduating in 1993, the school’s dean of students told the Alliance Review.
The Camino Nuevo prison on Edith NE is privately owned by a Tennessee-based company and houses women who are about to be released. About 50 women currently are being held at the facility.
Corrections Corp. of America owns five prisons in New Mexico, including the New Mexico Women’s Prison in Grants. It started business with the state in 1989.
Copyright 2007 Albuquerque Journal