Thread by @SamTLevin

NEW INVESTIGATION: a California prison sergeant sexually abused an incarcerated woman for months, then harassed/stalked her for yrs after her release, records show.

🧵on Nilda Palacios' long fight to be believed + how Sgt Tony Ormonde evaded consequences: theguardian.com/us-news/ng-int…

(content warning for this thread: prison abuse, sexual assault, stalking)

Nilda’s ordeal began 2016 at CCWF, CA's largest women's prison. Then 33, she'd spent nearly half her life inside + was nearing a parole hearing, her 1st opportunity to plead for freedom. Her cellmate had become abusive/violent. She was desperate for a bed move + to avoid trouble.

Officers denied her request to transfer rooms for her safety, so she turned to Sgt Tony Ormonde, who ran the yard. He approved but suggested she'd owe him. He began summoning her to private locations where he'd sexually harass + assault her, weekly for at least 6 months, she said

“I’d cry and ask why I put myself in this situation. I’d leave with disgust and feel used + I’d hate I didn’t have the choice to say no." She didn't report it: “I was petrified of getting in trouble + jeopardizing my freedom. I put a mask on and portrayed as if everything was OK"

She was freed Aug 2017 after 17 yrs in prison, but her nightmare with Ormonde didn’t end. He somehow got her # and immediately started calling, she said. She was scared to turn him down while on parole. She felt like she was still in custody. He sometimes called daily, she said.

Nilda reported Ormonde to CCWF sergeant Dustin Brown in Dec 2017, 4 months after her release, internal records released to Guardian suggest. The files don’t make clear how Brown responded, but show she reported Ormonde to Brown again in Nov 2019 + told him her story again in 2020

Nilda reported to Sgt Brown that Ormonde had called her and asked to meet up and that she had to change her # to avoid him. It’s unclear how Brown followed up, but the investigation went nowhere + she recalled him saying she didn’t have enough evidence and the case was dismissed.

"I felt hurt and betrayed, like I was being pushed aside and judged."

Nilda tried to move on + began work at a mental health clinic. Then in 2021 Ormonde called her at her work #. He was coy about how he tracked her down at work: “I was scared. He just kept pestering.”

By now, Nilda had confided in her therapist (a parole clinician) about the prison assaults + ongoing harassment. In July 2021, during therapy, Ormonde called Nilda. The therapist recorded the call; he made sexual remarks, recounted specific sexual acts + sent her explicit photo.

CDCR Office of Internal Affairs began investigating + brought Nilda in for interview. During the interview, Ormonde called Nilda again. Investigators listened as he made more harassing remarks. “He's hurting ppl + it hurts me to have to go through this to stop him,” she told OIA.

In July 2021, 3+ yrs after Nilda first reported his abuse: CDCR put Ormonde on *paid* leave.

In April 2022, 6 yrs after the sexual misconduct began, CDCR deemed Nilda’s abuse + sexual misconduct claims “sustained.”

But CDCR let Ormonde resign without termination or discipline

Ormonde got 8 months PTO + likely kept pension. CDCR recommended "sex with inmate" felony, but the DA said the statute of limitations had passed by the time CDCR sent it. Ormonde pleaded no contest to "unlawful communication with inmate" misdemeanor, but that case is now sealed.

“In cases like hers, when a victim’s rights get trampled like hers were, there’s no real remedy in the criminal justice system. And when we don’t resolve these things expeditiously, we run the risk every single time that there will be new victims" - Madera County DA Sally Moreno

At least one other woman has alleged Ormonde sexually abused her behind bars after Nilda. That woman, who filed complaint alleging abuse from 2017 to 2020, remains in prison. She told me: I want people held accountable – not just the perpetrator, but those who turned a blind eye"

CA state treasurer @fionama: “If you threaten a civil servant’s pension and healthcare for life, ppl w/ nefarious intent will think twice about breaking the law. But unfortunately too many get away with harassing, victimizing and abusing the women they’re supposed to look after"

@fionama The case remained secret until now. @Guardian obtained documents via records requests + Nilda, a survivor of significant abuse from before prison, decided to come forward: “I want to put an end to this abuse. I want the cycle to stop."

Nilda says sharing her story helps her process the enduring trauma from the abuse + aftermath: “It’s a seed for me to plant, and that plant grows and connects to other people. And that begins the healing for me.”

FULL STORY HERE. Photos by Andrea Arevalo theguardian.com/us-news/ng-int…

This story follows last year's series investigating how one guard got away w/ allegedly abusing 22+ women: , the toll of abuse: , and how guards are almost never fired or prosecuted despite hundreds of claims: theguardian.com/us-news/2023/o…
theguardian.com/us-news/2023/o…
theguardian.com/us-news/2023/o…

endless thanks and credit to super editor and guardian west coast boss @elinegordts