A custody assistant at the Los Angeles County sheriff’s women’s jail in Lynwood turned himself in Tuesday following an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, officials said.
Roy’ce Bass, 29, is accused of improper relations with at least one inmate at the Century Regional Detention Facility from August 2017 to January 2018, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
It’s unclear when the allegations were reported, or whether Bass was still employed at the jail when he surrendered to sheriff’s investigators Tuesday. Department officials could not immediately confirm that information Tuesday night.
Bass is now facing four counts of engaging in sexual activity with a detainee, according to deputies.
As a custody assistant, Bass was not a sworn peace officer. The Sheriff’s Department said it finds the claims against him “deeply troubling.”
“We are committed to transparency and holding our employees fully accountable,” the agency said in a statement.
The suspect was booked at the sheriff’s station in Marina Del Rey and released on $100,000 bail. He’s scheduled to appear in court Nov. 13, officials said.
The jail has been the site of multiple alleged sexual assaults by authorities.
In 2018, the county paid nearly $4 million to settle claims against former Deputy Giancarlo Scotti, who was convicted of sexually assaulting six inmates. And last year, a settlement of $53 million was paid out in a class-action lawsuit alleging tens of thousands of women were given invasive group strip searches there.
