Ex-guard pleads guilty to lesser charge in inmate sex case
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A former county jail guard in Pittsburgh has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a case accusing him of having sex with two female inmates in exchange for more favorable treatment, like private cells and less time locked down.
Thirty-five-year-old Joshua Reber pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of official oppression. That means he used his powers as a guard to coerce the women. The charges are misdemeanors instead of felony institutional sexual assault charges Allegheny County prosecutors dropped in a plea agreement.
The Upper St. Clair resident was hired in 2007 and fired when he was charged late last year.
One victim objected to Reber’s plea to lesser charges, saying he took advantage of her at the “most vulnerable stage” of her life.
He’ll be sentenced in January.