A Contra Costa County Sheriff’s deputy reached a plea deal in July to felony sex crime charges stemming from an encounter with two female jail inmates and is expected to be sentenced to six months of house arrest and three years probation when he returns to court for sentencing later this month.
During a preliminary hearing for 28-year-old Patrick Morseman in April, Jane Does 1 and 2 testified they were inmates at the West County Detention Facility in Richmond on or about March 31, 2018.
They had been flirting with the defendant in a playful manner when one of them passed him a note asking if he wanted to have sex. The victims persuaded him to allow both of them to hang out in the same cell, in violation of jail policy, and later that night Morseman took off his duty belt, went into the cell and had felonious sex with both of them.
The victims, who are not being named because of the nature of the crime, wept openly in court when they testified about the encounter saying that Morseman forcefully pushed Jane Doe 1 to the ground before penetrating
her before “pulling out” and ejaculating on the floor 15 to 20 seconds later.
Doe 2, after watching what happened to her friend, said she cooperated.
“He just stopped and grabbed me to do the same thing,” she told the court. “I had already seen what happened, so I knew.”
After five or six minutes the victims told Morseman to stop. He left, and they used a menstrual pad to wipe his semen up off the floor. Investigators matched the genetic material collected to Morseman, which turned out to be key evidence in the prosecution’s case.
He was charged with four felony counts of “sexual activity with a confined consenting adult” on May 3, 2018. Then on July 17, he pleaded guilty to all four counts.
At the time of Morseman’s preliminary hearing, a spokesman for the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office said that given mitigating evidence turned up in the investigation, prosecutors did not believe they could secure a conviction for rape, but an attorney for the victims disagreed.
“We have always maintained the position that this was rape under color of authority,” attorney Dean Aynechi said. “(Morseman) should count his blessings that the county and law enforcement has his back.”
Aynechi is the litigation chair at West Coast Trial Lawyers, the firm that represented the victims in a civil suit against Morseman and the sheriff’s office.
He confirmed that the case was settled at the end of 2018, but said he could not offer further comment on the matter.
“There was some flirting going on but obviously that doesn’t justify Mr. Morseman’s behavior,” Aynechi said.
“This is consistent with the county’s handling of this case, where they did not want to bring about evidence in regards to the rape,” Aynechi said. “They didn’t want to discuss it initially, and when they put out a
press release they didn’t even admit they were investigating it as rape under color of authority.”
He called the sentence Morseman faces when he returns to court at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 28 a “slap on the wrist.”
Defense attorney Melissa Adams, who represented Morseman at his preliminary hearing, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
35 comments
dude was looking at a certain six figure pension… what an idiot…
Yeah because that’s why you shouldn’t rape people
He is an idiot. Four felony counts – he should be in prison where he belongs. Rape under color of authority is correct. This IS a slap on the wrist.
Morseman got played by the inmates and now he is in trouble.
Exactly! They knew what they were doing, tho doesnt excuse his behavior.
Lol, the “victims” passed him a note asking if he wanted to have sex. He did not go in there to pray with them.
They took him to the cleaners. I would say that he lacked experience to be taken in like that. Got a very light sentence.
He wasn’t necessarily “played.” He could’ve easily forcibly raped these inmates. Guards do it. They know they have power and control over the inmates. If men rape women without a badge, imagine the power they have over them with a badge.
Doesn’t surprise me at all.! These guys think they are above the law and can do what they want. Can’t hide behind that badge anymore buddy. Good luck flipping burgers.
Man is a fool. Got taken by the inmates. But tells you a lot about the morals of our police and sheriffs.
No Pony. This incident doesn’t instruct us about the morals of anyone other then the ex deputy.
Another argument in favor of outsourcing jails and prisons to the private sector. Better performance at half the cost.
Profiting off of jailing human beings is vile. This isn’t a situation a private company should be profiting off of. It encompasses everything I was taught was wrong never to do.
@Me – and you don’t think the prison guards union is greedy? California prison guards are over paid and get huge pensions for work that requires no special skills. Anybody can do that job.
Big difference between prison guards doing their scripted routines each day and police officers on the street who face unpredictable lethal threats. Our police officers deserve high pay and decent benefits (although their pensions are too high as well).
There’s a shortage of prison guards across the US. Low pay and risky conditions. You can just about make the same at McDonalds. Private firms would have to pay more and hire more staff. It would not be cheaper. There’s always this misconception that privatization means lower costs.
There are more than 1,800 government-run adult prisons across the country. Staffing shortages are a problem from Oregon to Oklahoma. Jobs often go unfulfilled. In Tennessee, 10% of correctional jobs are vacant. In Maryland it’s nearly 20%
Corrections officer advocates say part of the reason for shortage is the high turnover rate, the danger of the job and the pay.
The average corrections officer makes approximately $21 an hour and just over $44,000 a year.
https://www.wcbi.com/u-s-prisons-facing-guard-shortage-as-brazen-escapes-increase/
This sounds like white male privlige. Too many guys let their penis be their conscience.Real men don’t have to use force to get what they want.
You need to get a new tune and drop the White mail privilege crap.
You’ve been polishing that white knight suit of armor for a while, huh Greg? I wanna be saved…
Have to proof read better.
You are wrong, greg! Real men do use the force. You just don’t understand the ways of the Jedi.
@ Greg
The only privilege a white male has is not having a built in excuse when something doesn’t go his way. This deputy is dumb ass, nothing to do with race.
Yea, what exactly is white mail privilege? Some kind of preferential treatment at the Post Office?
I did a paper in college on outsourcing jails/prisons results showed less control and costs much more.
Most of the above comments are completely ignorant. Even sworn law enforcement officers are human and make big mistakes, the truth here is in the grey area.
108RS
Get out of denial, and quit defending officers that break the law. You’re the one who is being ignorant. Who cares if they’re human. He broke the law, just like the ones you arrested. If you’re a stand up guy, you should be even harder on fellow officers.
Kentucky, Of course he is wrong, but the discipline seems appropriate. How do you rape someone who has passed you a note asking for sex? Until they say NO.
108RS
@Jeff Simple, if she changes her mind!
Jeff – It’s very simple. IGNORE THE NOTE. If it was passed at all. You’re NOT IN A BAR. These were INMATES! And he’s a GUARD. Be professional. If every woman had sex with every man that wanted to have sex with her… well, I’ll leave it at that. If she did pass the note, control your urges or cut the darn thing off.
The charges are a slap on the wrist. Quit thinking with your ****.Period.
Looks like another Epstein-type plea agreement. Prosecutors everywhere just refuse to spend the money to lock up scum bags for long sentences.
So yeah I love how so many complain about police and fire getting pensions
I don’t see you in 100 degree heat at high noon fighting a grass fire heading for homes or businesses
I don’t see you running into a house to save a women and baby from a crazed loser baby daddy
Or even just serving An eviction notice and being shot at through the door
They do this everyday with their lives on the line and obviously without gratitude
But you will give billions of dollars to illegals and vote to do so
Schools are being refunded to do it but your ok with that too
Bums on top of bums …no worries
But people working hard and training to offer themselves no matter what for their working life and all of a sudden they are ripping you off because their retirement is better than any yours
Ever thought I would see this country turn so backwards
Entitlement and hypocrisy and corruption are the norm
Crime is legal ….manhole covers are the devil and taxes being used to bed illegals
Wow
But it will all be ok if the police and fire get a measly retirement right …oh sorry left …as it is the ruling party directing your thoughts and focus against hard working skilled Americans
They passed him a note inviting him in and then wept on the stand? Sounds like the prisoners are trying to get their sentences shortened and some compensation.
Am I mistaken, or did I miss where it said ex-officer? I would assume he was put on paid leave while the union fought for his job, but I don’t see anything mentioning him being fired. As matter of fact, the story starts “A Contra Costa County Sheriff’s deputy reached a plea deal”.
He got away with rape.
Cowellian – Yes, he did. Thank you for being a voice of reason, and not making excuses like some of the other men. It’s situations like this that will separate good, decent men from the others.
either way he got away with a crime and dereliction of duty
why because the laws remain the same its the judges who are being coerced into lax judgments to please the pay to play system
he is union so he got the democrat union brake
and yes will probably be back in a facility as soon as his probation is over
you voted for all of this by falling for smooth talking politicians
its funny how when a politician acts normal and is trying their best and not smooth and polished ….that he or well actually the shes are all taken one one way by voters …so anyways the male politician has to speak smooth or dem voters ridicule and claim racist and unfit …when it is the smooth talker taking your pension and school funding along with your rights ….and security …..well done …no complaining about guns and shootings its all relative to YOUR ACTIONS
as long as you tow the dem line ….of radicalizing and stripping away America and their rights ….chaos is all you get …nothing makes sense anymore ….crime is legal …gov servers with classified info in basement with no jail time …gas tax for nothing …crumbling infrastructure yet a congressman can give 25 million dollars of tax money to a panel made up of dem supporters …to find where the congressman can make up miore ridiculous laws for re election purposes
more will get away with actions once thought of deplorable and seriously non professional and criminal …yet all is good ….with plea deals for illegals who commit crimes and American kids being denied a fair and high ranked schooling in favor of supporting illegals to boost representation in congress ..we are the ones left to fend for ourselves while the politicians who are supposed to be working for us and America slowly give it all away in favor of greed and the suffering of illegals by not making them legal so they can actually vote how they want …..and not be pawns in a political game of flooding congress with inept reps just to keep the democrat party in power to suck us some more
Comments are closed.