Officer Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Inmate Denied Bail arch

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By KGTV

Published: 06/04/2003

A judge recently refused to reduce bail of $100,000 for a veteran male officer at Donovan State Prison, who is accused of sexually assaulting a male prisoner on at least two occasions.
Kimberly Lewis, 48, has pleaded not guilty to 10 felony counts, including charges of an employee having sex with an inmate.
Deputy District Attorney Craig Rooten said investigators are looking into allegations raised by another prisoner that Lewis sexually assaulted him, as well.
The prosecutor disputed contentions by defense attorney Everett Bobbitt that DNA testing would exonerate the defendant.
'There is a match,' Rooten said of DNA collected in the case. 'The defendant violated a position of trust.'
In his unsuccessful bid to reduce bail to $10,000, Bobbitt told Superior Court Judge David Szumowski that Lewis had no reason to flee and was not a danger to the community.
Investigators began looking into Lewis August 29, when the state Office of the Inspector General got a letter from a 32-year-old inmate claiming he was twice forced to perform a sex act on the officer, according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant.
The inmate was told there would be problems, and new charges could be lodged against him if he did not comply with the officer's demand for sex, according to the declaration.
The alleged incidents happened in November and December 2001, the inmate stated in the letter.
After an alleged December 8, 2001, assault, the inmate wiped up Lewis' semen from the floor with a towel and sent it to his sister, directing her to take it to an attorney.
Officials from the San Diego County Sheriff's Crime Lab examined the towel for DNA last November.
Lewis and the inmate could not be excluded as possible contributors to a stain on the towel, according to the declaration.
A readiness conference is set for April 24, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 9.
The defendant -- who has worked for the Department of Corrections for 17 years -- could face up to 16 years in prison if convicted, Rooten said.

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