17-05-2025
State corrections officer accused of sexually assaulting female inmates
May 16—A New Mexico corrections officer was arrested after allegedly sexually assaulting four women at a Grants prison.
Elijah Williams, 21, is charged with four counts of criminal sexual conduct and battery. He turned himself in on Thursday and is being held at the Cibola County Detention Center. It is unclear who Williams' attorney is.
"We acted immediately, terminating the individual and notifying State Police," New Mexico Corrections Secretary Alisha Tafoya Lucero said in a statement. "We have zero tolerance for any misconduct, and any officer or staff member who engages in misconduct will be fully removed and referred for criminal prosecution to the fullest extent."
On April 16, New Mexico State Police received a call of an assault at the Western New Mexico Correctional Women's Facility.
A female inmate told police she was sexually assaulted by a correctional officer, later identified as Williams, according to an arrest warrant filed in Cibola County Magistrate Court. The woman told police that on March 23, she was working in a pod when Williams asked her to go outside to see an owl.
Once outside, Williams asked if she had tattoos on her chest and she showed him the tattoos, the arrest warrant states. The woman told police Williams took out gloves and said, "Turn around, you know how to pop it?"
She said "yes" and did an "exotic" dance before he grabbed her butt and chest, pulled down his pants and forced her to touch his genitals, according to the arrest warrant. Another woman told police she was afraid of losing her job because Williams is "a little pervert and has been (expletive) with her" and another woman.
Prison surveillance showed Williams going outside and calling out one of the women, the arrest warrant states. When police asked Williams why it took a while to come back, Williams told them it was because they were talking about who was coming in on the next shift.
When police asked Williams how far he took it, his face drooped then he told them he touched both inmates, but added they "lured me in," the arrest warrant states. Asked why he put on latex gloves, he told police it was "probably to hide DNA." He later told police he had showed the women his "junk," according to the arrest warrant.
On April 24 and May 7, two other women told police Williams used the same owl ruse to lure them outside before touching them inappropriately, police said. He put one of them in a chokehold, forcing them to touch his genitals before she freed herself, the arrest warrant states.
Police said the woman in the chokehold told Williams: "Dude, don't ever touch me like that again. I'm about to get out of prison, and you're a (expletive) idiot."
