Corrections Commissioner Anthony Torres speak to the media during a press conference on Friday, April 12.
DEPARTMENT of Corrections Commissioner Anthony Torres on Friday updated the media about an ongoing investigation regarding two inmates.
Last week, it was reported that a female Corrections inmate filed a complaint, alleging the she was raped by inmate Gerald Sablan in her cell pod.
However, Torres said the female was found in Sablan’s cell, which is a male-only cell.
“My staff found [the alleged victim] in the male section, and they immediately did a lockdown of the facility,” Torres said.
During their questioning of the female inmate, she was “caught throwing intimate letters between her and Gerald Sablan in the toilet,” Torres said.
While interviewing Sablan, Corrections staff were “provided a bunch of intimate letters between [Sablan] and [the female inmate].”
Torres said the female inmate was taken to the hospital where she underwent a rape kit examination.
Torres said two male Corrections officers and one female officer are on leave as investigation into the incident is ongoing.
He said at Corrections, males and females are prohibited from being in each other’s sections and that cross-gender visits are not allowed.
He could not comment on the details as to how the female inmate and Sablan were able to be in the same cell. Torres said he expects the investigation to conclude late this month or early next month.
Moving parts
As for the the media coverage of the event, Torres called for restraint.
“I want to reassure the media and the community that I’m committed to providing accurate and timely updates as soon as it’s appropriate to do so within the confines of the investigations,” he said. “I understand the pressing need, [but] just practice restraint in releasing whatever information you’re getting. … Give me an opportunity to get things together because I could be working and finding … different moving parts.”
He said he has to function as the department’s public information officer because there is no budget to fill the position.
Torres also took time to address criticism of his leadership due to various breaches of policy at Corrections, such as an inmate possessing a cell phone and the escape of a detainee while receiving medical treatment at the hospital.
“I’m addressing these things as they come,” he said. “Yes, there was an escape and I dealt with it accordingly. I was boots on the ground with my team and we got him within a few hours and nobody was hurt.”
In regards to cell phones, he said the contraband issue began in 2017 “before I got here, and yeah, we caught it on my watch.”
Torres said he can handle criticism of his leadership.
“Let people think or say whatever they want to say about me and my leadership. I’m taking care of things and I can sleep at night. I can look at myself in the mirror and know that I’m doing my best and my staff are doing their best,” he said.
Even as the Department of Corrections addresses incidents with its current inmate population, he will still pursue a transfer program with the Guam Department of Corrections.
“The vision that I have for this department is rehabilitation through operational excellence. There’s an enforcement piece and a rehabilitation piece,” Torres said. “What do I need to level that up? I need funds, I need money. And by slowly alleviating a little bit of overcrowding [on Guam] with certain inmates, to bring them here, that’s going to allow me to implement some of these programs.”
He said with funds from the inmate transfer program, he can potentially offer night differential pay and/or hazardous pay to his officers.
