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Robert Theodore Sanford, Jr., 37, was sentenced to six years and six months in prison after accepting bribes at the facility and for sexually trafficking a woman out of an apartment he rented, "for his own financial gain and sexual gratification," federal authorities announced this week.
Between May 2021 and June 2023, Sanford was a correctional officer at the Adult Detention Center, and during a stretch between December 2022 and May 2023, he smuggled contraband into the facility and provided "confidential, law-enforcement-sensitive tips to an inmate."
Investigators say that Sanford would provide his co-conspirator with information such as advance warning of cell searches by deputies, cell blocks to which deputies were proceeding in those searches, whether deputies would be conducting strip searches, and where drug-sniffing dogs were being utilized.
He also provided info on other inmates, including which may be snitching, which assisted him in intimidating potential witnesses.
"Robert Sanford violated his oath as a sworn law enforcement officer by distributing contraband, drugs, and confidential information to inmates, who then trafficked the drugs into the detention center," David Geist, the acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, said.
"Additionally, he placed the lives of inmates and his law enforcement peers in danger. Sanford threatened the security of the community and abused the public trust."
Among the contraband smuggled inside was a cell phone and distribution quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and Suboxone. Sanford also supplied latex gloves and glue to the inmate to help conceal the illicit items.
The drugs - which were procured from one of the inmate's associates - were then trafficked to other inmates.
Prosecutors made note that in addition to the drugs Sanford smuggled into Fairfax ADC, Sanford also distributed drugs to women who lived in and prostituted themselves out of an apartment that he leased.
"Robert Sanford preyed on the vulnerabilities of people in his care,” US Attorney Jessica Aber stated. “His corruption didn’t stop with profiting from feeding the addictions of inmates in his charge.
"Rather than assisting homeless and addicted members of his community, Sanford used drugs to entrap them in a life of prostitution for his own gain.”
Sanford's undoing came in May last year, when deputies at the Adult Detention Center conducted a strip search of his co-conspirator in the jail, leading to the recovery of:
- A cellphone;
- Two charging cable;
- One portable cellular phone charger;
- One USB charging brick;
- 92 counterfeit oxycodone pills;
- 174 strips of Suboxone;
- More than three grams of cocaine.
All of the contraband was found in the inmate's long underwear.
The day after the search, Sanford was informed of the seizure during roll call, and he proceeded to remove his cash tag name and personal email address from the CashApp account he used to receive bribe payments for smuggling contraband into Fairfax ADC.
He also stopped sending messages and making calls to the inmate and other conspirators and deleted related messages.
Within two weeks, prosecutors say that Sanford began the process of resigning from his job, falsely telling FCSO that childcare challenges were the reason for his resignation.
Now, he is heading to prison for his role in the conspiracy.
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