POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — A man who works at a Department of Juvenile Justice facility was arrested Monday morning on accusations that he sexually battered an inmate, the Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Local 10 News.
A spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice told Local 10 News in an email that the suspect, Jess Delgardo, 32, is not employed by the agency, but is employed by a contracted provider that operates at the Pompano Youth Academy.
According to BSO spokesman Carey Codd, the report against Delgardo was made at about 10 p.m. Sunday.
He said BSO deputies and Special Victims Unit detectives responded to the DJJ facility, located at 3090 North Powerline Road in Pompano Beach, to investigate the accusations.
They then arrested Delgardo on charges of sexual battery by a person in position of authority and sexual misconduct between detention facility employees and inmates.
According to an arrest report, an incident occurred Saturday between two inmates at the facility when accusations about sexual activity with an employee at the detention center were made.
Deputies said a supervisor at the facility spoke with the victim in the case who admitted to her that she was in a “form of relationship” with “Jessie.”
Authorities said the victim claimed that “Jessie,” later confirmed to be Delgardo, exposed himself to her in her room.
According to the arrest report, Delgardo is a care worker/guardian of the youth inmates at the facility.
Deputies said the victim disclosed that she has had a “flirtatious” relationship with Delgardo and had a notebook in which they would exchange messages to each other and make sexual comments to one another.
According to the report, the victim claimed that Delgardo woke her up last week and exposed himself.
Deputies said the victim admitted to performing oral sex on Delgardo and then having sex with him.
Authorities noted in the arrest report that the victim is 18 years old, however she “could not give consent to have sexual intercourse with Jessie who is her direct care worker/guardian under the facility.”
The investigation remains ongoing.
As of Monday afternoon, Delgardo was being held at the Broward County Main Jail on a $30,000 bond.
A Broward County bond court judge ordered that he not have any contact with the victim in the case.
Delgardo has been terminated by his employer, a spokeswoman for the DJJ confirmed.
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