SAN QUENTIN VILLAGE, Calif. (KRON) — A prison captain has been arrested after a sexual assault of an unconscious person in the North Bay, not far from the prison where he worked, according to the Martin County Sheriff.

On Jan. 30, a victim told the sheriff’s office that a sexual assault had happened in San Quentin Village. Detectives opened an investigation, and found probable cause to make an arrest.

The suspect was identified as Orlando Ponce, 43, a captain at San Quentin State Prison. Ponce was arrested on the morning of Feb. 9 on suspicion of forcible penetration of an unconscious person. He was booked into Marin County Jail, and his bail has been set at $100,000.

Ponce has worked with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation since March of 2001, when he started as a cadet with the Richard McGee Correctional Training Facility. He reported to San Quentin as a correctional officer in June 2001.

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Ponce was promoted to Correction Counselor I in July of 2013, and by March 2017 he was promoted to supervisor, according to the CDCR. Ponce became the permanent appointed captain in July 2021. Since news of the charges, Ponce has now been placed on paid administrative leave.