Ex-deputy, guilty of rape, could face life in prison when
sentenced Oct. 30
Convicted rapist and longtime sheriff’s deputy Michael Rodrigues
has been transported to the Tuolumne County Jail out of concerns
for his safety, the San Benito County Jail commander has
confirmed.
Ex-deputy, guilty of rape, could face life in prison when sentenced Oct. 30
Convicted rapist and longtime sheriff’s deputy Michael Rodrigues has been transported to the Tuolumne County Jail out of concerns for his safety, the San Benito County Jail commander has confirmed.
Rodrigues, 48, was found guilty Friday of raping three women – one of them twice, in 1999 and 2000, and the others each in 2006. He faces a possibility of life in prison.
The former sheriff’s deputy was transported immediately following his booking at the San Benito County Jail around 3 p.m. Friday, said Lt. Edward Escamilla, who heads jail operations.
“Being a law enforcement official here for 25 years, he’s probably arrested a lot of people that have been in custody,” Escamilla said.
Escamilla explained that Rodrigues is housed in what’s called “administrative segregation” at the jail in Sonora, in the Sierra foothills. Jail officers there will take extra lengths to keep Rodrigues – who lives in a single cell – isolated from the general population, he said.
Authorities are following the theory that it’s safer for Rodrigues in a place such as Tuolumne County. In San Benito County, though Rodrigues would have been harbored similarly to the Sonora situation, there remains a higher likelihood he might come into contact with potentially confrontational inmates here, Escamilla said. He offered the example when inmates have to go for medical attention.
Rodrigues will remain at the Tuolumne County Jail until his sentencing Oct. 30 at the San Benito County Courthouse. From there, he goes to North Kern State Prison in Delano. That is the “reception center” for San Benito County Jail inmates from which they are assigned permanently to a state prison.
Some likely possibilities for Rodrigues include San Quentin, Soledad or Folsom, the jail commander said. Throughout his incarceration, due to the same concerns about his law enforcement career, prison authorities will ensure Rodrigues is situated with maximum safety, he said.
A sergeant at the Tuolumne County Jail reached Tuesday said authorities there “wouldn’t have any comment on something like that.”
For stories on the trial leading up to last week’s guilty verdicts, and for video footage of the proceeding and Michael Rodrigues’ arrest, go to www.freelancenews.com.
