An Arizona prison inmate was caught on camera crawling past a security guard to get to the female side of the facility, where he later confessed he planned to “rape” a female inmate, according to court documents.
Justin Avery, 29, was in custody for allegedly sexually assaulting five women near Arizona State University’s Tempe campus when surveillance caught him sneaking past an unsuspecting guard at 4 a.m., according to Images obtained by ABC15.
Avery, wearing a bright orange prison jumpsuit, was seen lying on the ground and sliding on his butt to get from the busy male side of the Maricopa County intake facility to the much quieter female side, the outlet said.
He later admitted that he “snuck in like a spider” because he was attracted to a female inmate’s “fat ass,” according to court documents obtained by ABC15.
When Avery reached the women, he crept up behind a sleeping inmate and pulled down his pants, then admitted he planned to “rape” her, according to court documents.
However, he was stopped when another woman saw him and yelled, “Hey, get out of here,” court documents said.
Avery attempted to silence the witness, but the outburst had already alerted the security guard, who called for backup.
He confessed during interviews and was charged with an additional count of sexual assault.
The disturbing in-custody incident occurred in April but only now came to light after the footage was obtained through a records request, ABC15 said.
“We are appalled by Inmate Avery’s actions,” the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said. he told AZFamily.
“This was a unique incident and the first of its kind in four years since the (intake, transfer and release) facility opened.
“We acted immediately and added mirrors for better monitoring of the blind spots that were identified. In addition, a review of our current procedures was conducted to ensure best practices were implemented.”
Avery, who is still in custody, was “reclassified” due to “his institutional behavior,” the spokesman added.
He is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
