GALVESTON, Texas – Two female inmates both reported two different alleged sexual assaults by corrections officers at Hospital Galveston — and one of them is a well-known convicted killer making her first public statements about the incident.
Celeste Beard Johnson, who has been serving a life sentence since 2003 for orchestrating her millionaire husband’s murder, called KPRC 2 News reporter Corley Peel from prison to share her account exclusively. State rules prohibit recordings of the call, but Beard Johnson told Corley she is still not over the trauma.
“Even though we’re in here as prisoners, we should not be assaulted,” Beard Johnson said.
Johnson told Corley she was taken from the Lane Murray unit in Gatesville, Texas to Hospital Galveston for neck surgery in February. While still sedated in her cell during recovery, she says she thought she saw an arm come through a wall. She says she was punched and left bruised and bleeding from the alleged sexual assault.
Despite fear of retaliation, Johnson says she reported the incident days later but felt ignored, until her mother contacted the Governor’s office.
Johnson is not alone.
Angel Cordova says her daughter, who is serving 10 years in the Hobby unit in Marlin, Texas for aggravated assault on a public servant, was allegedly sexually assaulted by two officers during a separate visit to Hospital Galveston in March for an MRI appointment.
Cordova says she was first alerted about the incident by a call from another inmate. When she tried to get information from prison officials, she says she was given the runaround and only learned the full details when she visited her daughter in person.
“I was so mad. I was furious,” Cordova said.
Cordova described what her daughter told her happened during the alleged assault, saying her daughter was forced to perform sexual acts on two officers and was penetrated by one of them.
Cordova says the officers told her daughter to stay silent, but despite fear of retaliation, the woman reported the alleged crime.
Cordova is calling for accountability and says her daughter’s past should not make her a target.
“Just because these ladies have their pride doesn’t mean it allows you to punish them more. Their crime don’t define them,” Cordova said.
The two corrections officers with possible ties to both cases are now on unpaid administrative leave. They have not been charged with a crime. A third officer is also under investigation but was already off duty for a separate reason prior to the allegations coming to light.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is handling the administrative investigation while the Office of Inspector General is investigating the alleged crimes. Both women share the same attorney, who told KPRC 2 he is working to gather more information.
TDCJ policy states that male officers are never permitted to be alone with female inmates or conduct unclothed searches of female inmates.
The families of both women are hoping for justice.
FULL STATEMENT FROM TDCJ:
The security and safety of the incarcerated population and staff is the number of priority of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The agency takes all claims of sexual assault seriously and immediately opens investigations to any allegations. To protect the population, it is the agency’s practice that a male officer(s) are not alone with an individual female inmate. Additionally, staff cannot perform cross-gendered unclothed searches.
After a female inmate alleged she was sexually assaulted by two correctional officers at Hospital Galveston, TDCJ and the Office of Inspector General immediately opened investigations into the complaint. The two correctional officers have been relieved of duty while the investigations are ongoing. As both criminal and administrative investigations are ongoing, further details cannot be provided.
Additionally, both the agency and OIG are investigating a second incident where a different female inmate alleged she was sexually assaulted at the beginning of the year. In this incident, one officer was identified by name and two others were described. The officer identified by name and one of the officers described match those of the first incident mentioned above. These officers have been relieved of duty while the investigations are ongoing. The third officer has been off duty for a separate reason. As both criminal and administrative investigations are ongoing, further details cannot be provided.
As more information becomes available during the investigations, the agency will evaluate processes and procedures for any area of improvement to prevent heinous attacks such as those alleged.