Two correctional officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), Bianca Lopez and Miranda Annette Barrientes-Sedillo, have been arrested and charged with alleged sexual acts with inmates while on duty.

Reports noted that Ms Barrientes-Sedillo, listed as an Inventory and Store Specialist with the TDCJ’s Dominguez Unit in San Antonio, was arrested during the week after a source exposed her for having sexual contact with a prisoner.

It was learnt that the suspect allegedly asked another employee to act as a lookout while she engaged in sexual acts with an inmate assigned to work with her at the unit commissary. Records showed that she began working with the department in September 2024.

Ms Barrientes-Sedillo was subsequently charged with a second-degree felony charge alleging sexual misconduct with an inmate and was released thereafter after posting a $25,000 bond.

It was further gathered that two days after the arrest of Ms Barrientes-Sedillo, Ms Lopez, who is also an Inventory and Store Specialist at the same unit, was apprehended over another case for allegedly having sex with an inmate. 

Following her arrest, a source was said to have identified the 37-year-old as the employee described in the allegation, while another informant alleged that she had a relationship with a different inmate. 

Ms Lopez has since been charged with a third-degree felony of violating the civil rights of a person in custody, with her bond set at $10,000.

Under Texas law, a second-degree felony conviction carries at least two years and up to 20 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, including a possible fine up to $10,000.

Meanwhile, third-degree conviction ranges from at least two years and up to 10 years in prison as well as a possible fine up to $10,000.

The two defendants joined several other correctional officers employed by the TDCJ arrested and charged for various offences in 2026 alone. 

The Peoples Gazette on Thursday reported that a U.S.-based Nigerian prison officer with the department, Eberechukwu Emmanuel Igwe, was arrested last week for allegedly beating his wife during an argument over clothes and hats.

Similarly, Oluwayomi Obed Edom was recently apprehended over alleged synthetic cannabinoid and methamphetamine possession, while in May, Ayodele Abiodun Afosi was charged with fleeing the scene of an accident after causing damage. 

Also, The Gazette reported in July that another correctional officer from the TDCJ Bashir Oladimeji Lawal was arrested over alleged public intoxication.