ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – An Orange County corrections officer is accused of taking bribes for bringing food and alcohol to inmates.
Ce’Darius Danforth, 24, was arrested Thursday by agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with the assistance of the Orlando Police Department, according to a news release.
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The FDLE began its investigation into Danforth on Feb. 2 after being contacted by the Orange County Corrections Department, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. The OCCD accused Danforth of receiving money from inmates and their families through Cash App in exchange for providing those inmates with unauthorized food and alcohol.
Records show an OCCD sergeant was made aware of Danforth’s deal following a fight between inmates on Jan. 11. The next day, according to the affidavit, the OCCD internal affairs unit conducted a review of an inmate’s phone calls and found they had contacted someone about sending Danforth money through Cash App.
A search of a cell found a piece of paper with the former corrections officer’s Cash App identifier, records show.
An FDLE agent later interviewed an inmate at the jail, according to the affidavit, who said, starting in December 2020, Danforth offered to bring him anything from the outside, except for drugs, in exchange for money sent to the corrections officer’s Cash App account.
Another inmate told investigators that they had heard from others that if they spend $500, corrections officers would bring alcohol into the jail in plastic containers., according to the affidavit. FDLE agents also spoke with a woman who said she had communicated with Danforth as she sent him money so one of the inmates could receive food at the prison, investigators said.
Surveillance video showed Danforth bringing several plastic containers and Styrofoam food containers into the jail, according to FDLE. Records also showed Danforth was seen on video fraternizing with inmates, even hugging one.
Ultimately, the FDLE investigation found that Danforth received $275 in exchange for bringing food to inmates inside the Orange County jail over a time span from Dec. 20 to Jan. 7.
Danforth, who officials say no longer works as a corrections officer, faces two charges: one count of bribery and one count of bringing contraband into a county detention facility.