L.A. County sheriff’s jailer charged with sexually assaulting female detainee in 2019

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s custody assistant has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a Lancaster jail cell last year, prosecutors revealed Thursday.

Daniel Everts, 25, made a brief court appearance Thursday, pleading not guilty to three felonies — forcible oral copulation, oral copulation by the threat of arrest or to deport under color of authority and sexual activity with an adult confined in a detention facility.

Everts surrendered in court on a warrant related to the charges issued earlier this month. He was initially arrested in June 2019, just days after the alleged attack.

Prosecutors allege Everts was working as a custody assistant at the sheriff’s Lancaster station when he allegedly forced the woman to perform a sex act on him on June 17, 2019.

A federal lawsuit filed by the woman against the county and the Sheriff’s Department alleges that after being
pulled over for driving under the influence by the California Highway Patrol on June 16, 2019, she was booked into the Lancaster station jail early the next morning. When she asked for a blanket from Everts, the only employee working near the cells, he allegedly told her, “it is going to cost you,” according to the lawsuit.

A few minutes later, Everts approached the woman and demanded she move to a specific location in the holding cell, the suit alleges. He then made sexual demands of her and warned her that “she could do more time in custody and remain in custody if she did not comply,” according to the lawsuit filed in California’s Central District.

“In fear and finding no choice,” the woman “was forced to comply with his demands,” the suit stated.

At that point, Everts entered the cell, lowered his pants and forced her to perform oral sex, the suit stated. The woman was released that day, according to the suit.

Everts was arrested on June 20, 2019. The lawsuit seeks damages for severe psychological injuries. The lawsuit alleges, without giving specifics, that “Everts had sexually assaulted other female detainees at Lancaster Station since being employed in 2015.”

Prosecutors said on Thursday that Everts remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Department’s internal criminal investigations bureau. He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted of both sex crimes and is scheduled to return to a downtown L.A. court on Nov. 12. He was released in lieu of $100,000.

“We initiated the investigation based on the victim coming forward to complain,” said L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villaneuva. “Once completed, we got the D.A. to file charges. We hold our own accountable.”