Corrections officer pleads guilty in affair with convicted killer Maestas
A veteran state corrections officer on Wednesday said he was guilty of having a sexual affair with convicted child killer Monique Maestas.
Correctional officer Eugenio Dimas, 52, pleaded guilty to one felony count of misconduct of a public officer. He faces a sentence of probation, which could include up to a year in jail.
Judge James Bixler will sentence Dimas at a hearing Oct. 3.
State prosecutors dropped a second charge of voluntary sexual conduct between a prisoner and another person, as part of a deal with Dimas.
Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said in a statement, “Our office takes seriously any allegations of misconduct by public employees.”
Court documents show the affair took place between Sept. 25 and Oct. 14 at the Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center in Las Vegas.
Prison officials learned of the relationship when another inmate warned a prison commander that Maestas, 26, might attack, in a jealous rage, a third inmate who was flirting with Dimas.
Maestas told the inmate she was sleeping with Dimas and that they often spoke on the phone at night. Dimas also gave Maestas pictures and a silver pendant of an Egyptian cross known as an ankh, Sanders said.
Authorities discovered Dimas’ cellphone number written on a Post-it note in Maestas’ cell and confronted the inmate.
During the first of three interviews, Maestas denied the relationship, but then admitted calling him.
Finally, during the third interview, she admitted having a sexual relationship with the officer.
Maestas later passed a polygraph exam during which she described the intimate details of their relationship.
During an interview with state investigators, Dimas denied the relationship but admitted giving Maestas the pendant, pictures of himself and his family and his cellphone number.
The investigation found that “Officer Dimas was heard telling Maestas he loved her, missed her, would kiss her all over, made plans for the future and indicated they would be together,” court documents show.
He was placed on administrative leave Oct. 18, two days after authorities learned of the relationship. The six-year veteran officer was fired in April.
Maestas is serving two life prison terms with the possibility of parole after 47 years for helping her older brother in 2003 stab a 3-year-old girl to death and paralyze her 10-year-old half-sister.
The brutal attack in Mesquite occurred because the girls’ mother and her boyfriend sold the Maestas siblings fake methamphetamine, which turned out to be salt, for $125.
Her brother, Beau Maestas, was sentenced to death.
Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
