Ex-parole officer accused of having sex with detainee, faces felony

A former Nevada Parole and Probation officer is facing a felony charge after a probationer claimed he had sex with her while she was hospitalized in Las Vegas.

While the woman was in the hospital, Allery Marquez Espino, 40, introduced himself as her new supervisory officer in 2020, according to reports from the Metropolitan Police Department.

The unidentified woman, who had been given fentanyl and morphine during recovery from surgery, later told police that their conversation turned “mutually flirtatious” and they exchanged mobile phone numbers and texted each other, with Marquez Espino using his work phone, according to police.

Marquez Espino soon sent her a link to WhatsApp, and they had “sexual” conversations on it, with the woman sending a photo of her dressed in lingerie and the officer a photo of his penis, she stated to sexual assault detectives.

The officer, she said, wrote on WhatsApp that he “wanted to sneak into the hospital and have sex with her” and “wanted to tie (her) up and choke her during sex,” based on the warrant.

The woman did not refuse his advances and suggested he come see her at the hospital and “pretend” to do a supervisory check while her family and friends were not in her room, police reported.

The officer signed in at the nurse’s station under the guise of an official visit, went to the woman’s room and, after a nurse completed an hourly round, got into bed with the woman while wearing his uniform and police vest and had sex with her, she told police.

She said she later saw Marquez Espino, dressed in plain clothes, return to the hospital to see her, and he told her he would request a different probation officer for her so they could maintain their relationship.

Two days after her release from the hospital, a new officer took over her case, police reported.

Once the dosage of her medication was lowered, she told police, she felt that the relationship with the officer was wrong and she had been “taken advantage of.”

She reported it to her new probation officer in March 2021, but she was arrested and jailed at the Clark County Detention Center for violating her parole in not reporting her new address.

While in court, she mentioned her experiences with Marquez Espino and the judge told her to file a complaint or a court case.

She said she submitted a complaint with Parole and Probation’s human resources department, but nothing was done.

Then, in February, during a conversation on the phone while in jail, a police officer overheard her tell someone she had been sexually assaulted by her probation officer. The police officer informed a police sergeant, who reported it to sexual assault detectives, who then arrived at the jail to interview the woman.

Detectives also interviewed the woman’s fianceé, who said she expressed regret for her actions with Marquez Espino and that Parole and Probation had been notified about it.

A warrant was issued for Marquez Espino’s arrest, on suspicion of a law enforcement officer engaging in sexual conduct with person who is under arrest or detained, and police took him into custody on Monday.

He is scheduled to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court on Aug. 31.

Under questioning by police prior to his arrest, Marquez Espino stated that he had been employed by Parole and Probation from 2015 to about 2020 or 2021, and that he had resigned while being investigated by the agency’s human resources office, according to the arrest report.

He also stated that he could not recall the woman in question, citing concussions he suffered from motorcycle accidents, police said.

Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0382. Follow him @JeffBurbank2 on Twitter.