Inmate caught on camera sneaking past guard to assault woman on opposite side of facility

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday

Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

A male inmate at an Arizona jail facility was caught on film crawling past an unspuspecting security guard to get to the female side of the jail, where he attempted to sexually assault a woman.

The stunning Footage, obtained by The Independent, captured Justin Avery sliding on the floor in an orange jumpsuit past the security desk, undetected, to access the desk to reach the women’s side of the Intake Transfer and Release Facility around 4am on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old was arrested in April for allegedly assaulting multiple women.

On Tuesday morning, after scooting past the male and female waiting areas, he successfully reached the women’s side where he was attracted to an inmate’s “fat a**,” according to court documents obtained by ABC15.

He approached the woman when she was asleep and dropped his pants before he was eventually caught by another woman who yelled: “Hey, get off of her” before guards rushed in.

The footage begins with Avery standing up, arms crossed, looking at the security guard posted at the desk. He then drops to the floor, crab crawls backward toward the desk so that he is firmly out of the guard’s sightline.

The guard stares at his computer screen while just a foot below, the bright orange jumpsuited inmate scoots on his rear around the perimeter of the desk.

Avery can then be seen sliding across the gray floor, moving from the male waiting area, where about a dozen men are slumped in chairs or asleep on the floor, to the female side, where two women appear to be waiting.

Apparently being alerted by the woman, guards disrupt the scene. The detention officer who had previously been behind the desk approaches Avery, holds the back of Avery’s shirt collar, and leads him to a cell as other guards swarm them. The entire ordeal spanned three minutes.

Avery has been charged with attempted to commit sexual assault and aggravated assault against a correctional facility employee, records show.

He has since been “reclassified due to his institutional behavior,” a spokesperson for Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office told The Independent in a statement.

“We’re appalled by inmate Avery’s actions at our ITR facility. This was a unique incident and the first of its kind in four years, since the ITR facility was open,” the spokesperson continued.

“We acted immediately, adding mirrors for better monitoring in the blind spots that were identified. In addition, a review of our current procedures was completed to ensure best practices are being implemented. The safety of staff and inmates is our top priority, and we’re committed to ensuring this doesn’t happen again,” the spokesperson said.

Avery is next due in court on September 24.