EXCLUSIVE: Virginia Inmate Says She Was Put in Solitary for Reporting Sexual Battery

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A former inmate in the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center in Leesburg, Virginia, says she was put into solitary confinement after reporting that a female correctional officer sexually assaulted her.

Correctional Officer Yesenia Jusino Ramos, 43, of Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania, has been charged with sexual battery and delivering an article to a prisoner for a series of incidents that happened in August. She no longer works for the facility.

Yesenia Jusino Ramos Provided by Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office

Ramos allegedly gave the female victim sexually invasive pat-downs when pat-downs were not required and, according to the victim, tried to have a romantic relationship with her by sliding letters under her door, giving her an unsolicited gift, and touching her. The victim is a mother of several children serving time for a probation violation stemming from an underlying charge of credit card fraud.

The victim, whose identity is not being released, was moved to another prison and she spoke with The Epoch Times by phone.

“There were instances where she was in my cell, which is on camera,” the victim said. “And, she had put her hands down my pants and stuff like that. She wrote a lot of letters to me that they have. It says in detail all the events that took place.”

The letters were partially sexual. The victim says Ms. Ramos added her to her contact list on her tablet and wrote messages to her there in addition to sliding letters under the door.

“She said how she wanted to be in a relationship … really inappropriate things. She would say how she has never felt like this before. And then whatever I want, she will bring in, just remember that she had authority to take it away at any point.”

Report Ignored

Prisoners see posters advising them of their rights under the Prison Rape Elimination Act and how to make a report.

The victim told The Epoch Times she used her tablet to fill out a form and make a report through mental health. No one spoke with her about it for two weeks, but right after the report, she was moved and put on 23-hour lock down in her cell, where she has mostly remained since August. Even when moved to a new prison, she stayed segregated from other prisoners until recently.

“I just got out. I was in 23-hour lockdown for four months,” the victim said. She tried to report the issue multiple times.

“I tried to tell a sergeant what was going on, but [Ramos] wouldn’t let me talk with the sergeant by myself. I asked to speak to the sergeant alone, but he didn’t understand. He was like, ‘Well, you can speak to me with her here.’ And I was like, ‘Never mind.’”

A mental health worker visited the victim’s cell.

“I broke down. I started crying, and I told her. I showed her the letters and everything like that, and she was like, ‘Oh, my God. We have to report this.’ I said, I’ve been writing to you now for two weeks, and she said she hadn’t seen any of the request forms or anything like that.”

Another week went by, and the victim said nothing happened.

“Then we had a shakedown,” The victim said. “We were being moved in the facility to another location, so they searched the cell. They basically look at all your belongings.”

That is when guards found the vaping device Ms. Ramos is accused of giving to the victim.

She showed them the letters and told them she had been trying to tell them about the situation for about a month. A master deputy for the facility told her he would bring the matter to the right person and show them the letters.

“He said he’s been working there 24 years, and he’s never seen anything like that. He took the letters. The investigation started. A detective came to speak with me. Two days later, [the detective] pulled body camera footage. I'd given her dates and times, so it was easy for her to pull. And she was terminated within three weeks, and the charges were just brought,” the victim said.

Headed to Court

Ms. Ramos was charged on Nov. 13.  She began employment with the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center on Jan. 22, 2022. She was immediately placed on administrative leave when these allegations were reported, and the center ended her employment on Sept. 20, 2023, a statement from the center said. Ms. Ramos is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 12, 2023.

The Epoch Times asked the public information officers at the center why the victim was put on 23-hour-a-day lockdown after the report, why no one responded to her first complaint, and why any inmate should feel safe reporting an incident.

“Pursuant to Virginia Code §2.2-3706(B)(1), this matter has yet to be adjudicated through a legal proceeding. Accordingly, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s’ Office will not comment on any statements that may be made by the victim or on the evidence that may be presented by the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney,” Thomas A. Julia, director of media relations and communications, said responded in an email.

The victim says she knows she must pay her debt to society, but she did not expect to be sexually attacked in prison. Now, there is a sound that makes her feel hyper alert and afraid.

“It’s horrible. It’s a terrifying feeling. It’s like I have had PTSD just from one of those doors popping on. Like every time you hear that door or anything like that. This is a place that is horrible to be in anyway. But then this is somebody who is supposed to be there to keep you safe, and it is the person that you’re supposed to be able to go to, to say that something is wrong.”

Scalded in Shower

She is not the first inmate to speak about having a problem with a guard at Loudoun County Adult Detention Center.

Richard Piland, 22, files a federal court case seeking $7 million in damages after an incident on Feb. 4, 2022, when he was strapped to a wheelchair by Loudoun County Adult Detention Center guards, wheeled to a shower, and placed under scalding hot water that left him with first- and second-degree burns. A photo of large blisters from the burns is shown in the court filing. Body camera footage from the guards shows the rest of the story.

According to the court filing, Mr. Piland, who has a mental illness, smeared toothpaste on his window. Guards asked him to remove it, but he refused and became more uncooperative. Guards sprayed him with pepper spray and then took him to the shower. But the shower had a work order to be fixed. It was running too hot. The video showed Mr. Piland screaming in pain as he was trapped under the hot water. When the water was turned to cold, he could be heard thanking guards for the relief.

The case was settled out of court in May 2023.