A NM prison guard was convicted of sexually assaulting a prisoner. A lawsuit now alleges the inmate faced retaliation by other officers.

A former corrections officer who pleaded guilty in June to sexually assaulting a female inmate in 2022 now faces a lawsuit alleging he threatened retaliation if she reported the attack.

The woman, an inmate at Western New Mexico Corrections Facility in Grants, also alleges that she has since experienced retaliation from other corrections officers for reporting the abuse.

Dale Clemons, 27, of Acoma, pleaded guilty last month to a single felony count of criminal sexual penetration. A 13th Judicial District Court judge sentenced Clemons on June 12 to three years of supervised probation.

According to a lawsuit filed this week, the woman was an inmate at the women’s prison in October 2022 when she was sexually abused by Clemons “on multiple occasions,” using his knowledge of the placement of security cameras to attempt to avoid detection.

The lawsuit alleges that the woman didn’t report the attacks “for fear of retaliation,” but investigators eventually discovered the assaults.

“When confronted by state investigators, (the woman) disclosed that she had been sexually abused by Officer Clemons,” the suit said.

The woman’s attorney, Levi Monagle, said corrections officers have retaliated against her by serving her meals at irregular times and barring her access to outdoor areas of the prison.

The lawsuit identifies Clemons and the New Mexico Corrections Department as defendants.

Corrections officials did not immediately return phone messages and emails seeking comment. Clemons’ attorney, Chandler Blair, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment on Tuesday.

The woman also told a New Mexico State Police investigator that Clemons rewarded her with contraband cigarettes after assaulting her on three occasions in October 2022 in a “control office” at the prison, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in 13th Judicial District Court.

Clemons told investigators that he “formed a relationship” with the inmate and admitted bringing cigarettes into the prison and giving them to her, the affidavit said. Clemons told investigators that Oct. 20, 2022, was his last day of work at the prison.

A grand jury indictment in January charged Clemons with three counts of criminal sexual penetration by a person in authority over inmates, court records show. Two of those counts were dismissed under the plea agreement.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, alleging violations of the woman’s constitutional rights.