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Virginia Beach police sergeant arrested in prostitution sting www.privateofficer.com
CHESAPEAKE, Va. April 4 2012 - A Virginia Beach police sergeant was one of five men arrested during an undercover escort operation bust in Chesapeake, police spokesman Jimmy Barnes confirmed with WAVY.com.
The arrests were made on Friday, March 30. Chesapeake Police were investigating the solicitation of prostitutes in the Greenbrier area of the city, according to Officer Kelly O’Sullivan.
The following five individuals were arrested and charged with solicitation of prostitution, a misdemeanor.
•Dale R. Lamaine, 46, of the 600 block Jacqueline Av, Virginia Beach
•Jonathan W. Barlett, 26, of the 2800 block Lambert Trail, Chesapeake
•Brandon L. Green, 21, of the 1700 block Birch Trail Circle, Chesapeake
•Luis A. Solano Herrera, 30, of the 5400 block Reunion Pt, Raleigh NC
•Mark E. Vidrine, 49, of the 1000 block Boagie Ct, Virginia Beach
Chesapeake police spokeswoman Kelly O’Sullivan said the suspects used the internet or telephone to arrange a meeting with a prostitute, who was really an undercover officer. When both parties arrived to the 1500 block of Crossways Boulevard, which O’ Sullivan described as the hotel district, the purpose for the meeting was again verified, resulting in the arrests.
Vidrine is employed by the Virginia Beach Police Department as a Sergeant Supervisor. According to Barnes, Vidrine has been with the force 17 years. He is currently on administrative assignment.
Source:WAVY.com
Hospital employees fired for having sex with inmates www.privateofficer.com
charlotteobservor.com Three male employees at Dorothea Dix Hospital lost their jobs Thursday as the State Bureau of Investigation was asked to look into allegations they had sex with female prisoners working at the state mental facility.
A fourth employee left her job under suspicion that she had a personal relationship with an inmate that did not include sex.
Officials concluded that the employees enabled the inmates to set up bank accounts, access e-mail and make unauthorized phone calls, said Renee McCoy, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Human Services.
More personnel actions could be taken, McCoy said.
Keith Acree, spokesman for the N.C. Department of Correction, said 13 inmates from the nearby Raleigh Correctional Center for Women were working at the state mental hospital when the allegations were reported in February. All the inmates have been removed from their work assignments at the hospital.
Acree said the prison system is cooperating with Health and Human Services in its investigation. When that investigation is complete, Acree said, officials will decide whether to resume the inmate labor program at Dix.
It is a felony for employees to have sex with people in state custody, punishable by up to 31 months in prison for each count. The law says claiming the inmate was a willing participant is not a valid defense. Those in custody cannot legally consent to sex.
Emery Milliken, a Health and Human Services lawyer, sent a letter to the SBI on Thursday asking for a criminal investigation.
Milliken said that a staff member may have violated a state law that bans intercourse or other sex acts between a state employee and someone in state custody.
The News & Observer requested documents about the sex allegations on April 6. Health and Human Services initially refused, saying records were confidential under personnel privacy rules.
After the newspaper maintained that such documents are public records, Health and Human Services on Thursday provided a copy of a March 17 report from the prison system summarizing evidence that hospital employees had engaged in improper conduct with prisoners, including “romantic involvement” and providing the women with clothes and other “contraband.”
The names of the employees and inmates involved were blacked out of the copy of the report provided to the newspaper.
McCoy would not say whether some of the female inmates allowed to access the Internet and open bank accounts were serving sentences for financial crimes.
“We can’t go into specific details because the investigation is continuing, but obviously that would be a concern,” McCoy said.
Inmate advocates say it is not rare for guards and other state employees to get caught having sex with prisoners, even though the potential criminal penalties are steep.
“It’s very, very commonplace,” said Michele Luecking-Sunman, a staff attorney for N.C. Prisoner Legal Services. “In our experience, they don’t always fire the guards unless someone makes an issue of it.
“Otherwise, they kind of sweep it under the rug and transfer the officer to another prison or allow that person to resign.” News researchers Brooke Cain and Lamara Williams contributed to this report.
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