A former Fairfax County sheriff’s deputy will serve six years in prison for distributing drugs to a jail inmate and to women who engaged in prostitution at an apartment he leased, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia says.
The sentence was handed down yesterday (Wednesday) after Robert Theodore Sanford Jr., 37, pleaded guilty in June to conspiring to distribute cocaine and opioids, including fentanyl and suboxone, and to providing contraband in prison.
According to court documents, Sanford smuggled contraband, including drugs and an iPhone, for an inmate at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, where he worked from May 2021 until June 21, 2023. He accepted at least $1,630 in bribes during the scheme, which lasted from December 2022 into May 2023.
Sanford also got cocaine from the inmate on at least two occasions to give to women who “associated with the defendant at an apartment in or around Baltimore,” a statement of facts says.
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office uncovered the contraband while searching the inmate’s jail block on May 4, 2023. After learning about the seizure, Sanford changed the personal contact information tied to the electronic payment app he used to accept the bribes “in an attempt to conceal his involvement,” according to prosecutors.
About two weeks later, he began resigning his job with the sheriff’s office, citing “childcare challenges” but refusing a change in schedule to accommodate his alleged needs.
“Robert Sanford preyed on the vulnerabilities of people in his care,” U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber said in the press release. “His corruption didn’t stop with profiting from feeding the addictions of inmates in his charge. Rather than assisting homeless and addicted members of his community, Sanford used drugs to entrap them in a life of prostitution for his own gain.”
Sanford’s plea agreement included an admission that prosecutors, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Call, had the evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and immunity from further criminal prosecution related to this case. He faced a maximum possible prison sentence of 20 years each for the two charges.
Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid said in a statement that she’s “incredibly grateful for the diligent efforts” of investigators in her office and the FBI to reveal “corruption that put deputies and inmates at extreme risk.”
“This criminal conduct within the A.D.C. is unacceptable and we will relentlessly pursue those who abuse their positions of trust for personal gain,” Kincaid said. “We express our thanks to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI for their collaboration and partnership in bringing this criminal to justice.”
