Home Confinement Compliance Supervisor Sentenced to Prison Term for Sexually Abusing Inmate

MIAMI — A 60-year-0ld Miami man in charge of monitoring the compliance of federal inmates in home confinement is headed to federal prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a woman he monitored.  

Benito Montes de Oca Cruz worked as a site supervisor for Riverside House, a federal Bureau of Prisons contractor responsible for providing custodial, supervisory, and disciplinary oversight to federal inmates in home confinement. As part of monitoring compliance, Cruz visited inmates at their homes.  

On December 28, 2020, Cruz visited a woman who was serving part of her 51-month sentence at home. While there, Cruz engaged in sexual contact with the victim, including touching her sexually while they were both naked.

Law enforcement received information on this illicit activity and promptly investigated. Evidence against Cruz included a video that captured the illegal activity and DNA that Cruz left behind.  

The full sentence imposed by United States District Judge Robert N. Scola was four months’ imprisonment, to be followed by one year of supervised release (with the first 120 days of supervised release in home confinement). In determining the sentence, Judge Scola noted the serious nature of the offense but also considered Cruz’s lack of prior criminal history, among other factors. Cruz must surrender to the federal Bureau of Prisons on June 1.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge James Boyersmith of the Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General (DOJ-OIG), announced the sentence. 

DOJ-OIG investigated this case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward N. Stamm prosecuted it.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-20459.

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