Valley security guard sentenced for sexually assaulting residential reentry center inmate

PHOENIX — A security guard from Avondale was sentenced on Monday to 13 months in prison for sexually abusing an inmate, authorities said.

Morris Gary Hibbitt, 51, was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Hibbitt will have to register as a sex offender, prosecutors said.

Why was Avondale security guard sentenced for sexual abuse of inmate?

The assault took place while he was a security supervisor at Behavioral Systems Southwest (BSS) in Phoenix, prosecutors said.

Inmates at the BSS facility are in official detention and receive services that help them transition back in to the community while completing their sentences.

Hibbitt sexually assaulted a female inmate who was under his supervision on May 21, 2023.

He pleaded guilty to the crime on July 17, 2024.

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