A former corrections officer from Laredo, Texas, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting two female inmates. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced that Hector Humberto Rodriguez Jr., 29, pleaded guilty on December 30, 2024.
U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña ordered Rodriguez to serve 240 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. At the sentencing hearing, the court described Rodriguez’s actions as predatory and emphasized the danger he posed to the community by abusing his authority. The judge also noted how Rodriguez exploited a system intended to protect victims. In addition to his prison sentence, Rodriguez will be required to register as a sex offender.
Rodriguez committed the offenses while working as a correctional officer with the Webb County Sheriff’s Office in January 2022. According to prosecutors, he removed two women from their cells on separate occasions and took them to secluded areas within the jail where he used force, threats, and coercion to sexually assault them.
He will remain in custody until he is transferred to a facility operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Department of Justice - Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Scott Bowling and Leslie Ann Cortez prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas is part of the U.S. Department of Justice and operates as chief prosecutor for its jurisdiction under appointment by the President with Senate confirmation (official website). The office works closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies (official website) and employs more than 200 attorneys across six offices including Laredo (official website), covering 43 counties and serving over nine million residents (official website). It handles both criminal prosecutions and civil cases involving government interests (official website).
