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Ex-San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 35 years to life for sex crimes against female inmates

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A former San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy accused of battery, sexual assault and having sex with numerous female inmates at a jail facility in Joshua Tree was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison after pleading guilty this month, according to court records.

Brian Derryberry initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea on Dec. 4. on nine counts of battery, sexual assault, making threats, sodomy and having sex with female inmates.

The deputy was hired by the department in 2014. In July 2016, the married father of one, came under investigation when a tipster notified the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office that Derryberry had been having a sexual relationship with a female inmate at the Morongo Basin Jail.

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Detectives later discovered the deputy had sex with “numerous female inmates while they were housed at the Morongo Jail,” according to a news release at the time.

He was arrested and booked that same month at High Desert Detention Center and was released after posting $50,000 bail. The department fired him shortly after the arrest.

Derryberry is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 1 when he will begin his prison sentence.

ruben.vives@latimes.com

For more Southern California news, follow @latvives on Twitter.

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