ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Marquet Johnson, a former private prisoner transport guard, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in New Mexico to violating a female pretrial detainee’s civil rights by sexually assaulting her during a prisoner transport.
Johnson, 44, of West Memphis, Arkansas, additionally admitted to previously violating multiple other female pretrial detainees’ civil rights by sexually assaulting them during prisoner transports.
“Every person has a basic right to dignity and respect,” said District of New Mexico U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez. “And nobody, no matter the crime of which they are being accused, deserves to be raped. When jailers fail their duty to those in their charge, they will join them in custody.”
KARE 11’s Nowhere to Turn investigation exposed how Johnson’s case, which includes allegations he raped a St Paul woman while transporting her from Dallas, Texas to the Ramsey County, Minnesota jail, is part of a nationwide failure to provide oversight of the private prisoner transport industry that has fueled a systemic pattern of rape and abuse.
Johnson came under investigation in 2019 when a woman who asked to be identified only by her initials, “T.P.”, was picked up at the Santa Fe jail to be transported on a warrant to Delta County, Colorado.
She was loaded into a white van that held three male detainees.
According to court records, about an hour into T.P.’s transport, the van stopped in Albuquerque to drop off the three men leaving her alone with the guards.
A few minutes later, around 5:50 AM, the van stopped at a gas station with an attached Carl’s Jr. restaurant.
The other guard went inside to buy breakfast and that’s when Johnson ordered T.P. into the back row of the van and climbed in after her. He removed her ankle restraints and loosened her handcuffs, leaving her belly chain in place.
T.P. told the guard that she was unsure what was going on, but that she did not want “to do this.”
In response, Johnson pulled out a short black gun, and, while resting the gun on his lap, told T.P. that he wanted her to cooperate, “otherwise, it was going to get ugly.”
He then raped her while holding his gun against her cheek.
Afterward, he ordered her to quickly pull up her pants, she was still doing so when the other guard came back with the breakfast burritos. The other guard got in the driver’s seat and Johnson stayed in the back row with T.P.
When dropped off at the Delta County Colorado jail, T.P. told the booking officer about the attack and requested a rape kit. DNA from that rape kit was matched to Johnson after federal investigators served a search warrant on him.
The FBI investigation would discover T.P. was far from being alone. Court records indicate as many as 15 women claim Johnson raped them while they were being transported on out-of-state warrants. Six of those women said they were sexually assaulted after T.P. reported being raped by Johnson.
Danielle Sivels of St Paul filed a federal lawsuit which claims Johnson repeatedly sexually assaulted her in rest stop bathrooms.
Sivels' attorneys, Paul Applebaum and Megan Curtis claim Ramsey County failed to do basic due diligence when they awarded Johnson’s employer, Inmate Services Corp (ISC), a contract to transport inmates.
KARE’s investigation exposed how ISC was operating illegally without a license in MN.
ISC’s owner, Randy Cagle, refused to respond to questions offering only profanity and threats during a phone call with KARE 11.
ISC appears to have gone out of business as lawsuits against the company mount.
“It’s astounding,” said T.P.’s attorney Laura Shauer Ives, “that despite her having reported that rape, six other women were raped afterward and that his company was aware of this, and the company continued to allow him to transport women and continued to harbor him and facilitate a serial rapist.”
As part of his plea deal, Johnson admitted to raping two other women in addition to T.P. and will be sentenced to 27 to 30 years behind bars.
Other victims will be given the chance to testify or submit a written statement at Johnson’s sentencing.
KARE 11's investigation has led to calls for action from leaders in Washington, D.C. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) weighed in, telling KARE, "These reports are deeply concerning and the Department of Justice must take action."