A 51-year-old Avondale man has been sentenced to 13 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for sexual abuse of an inmate at Behavioral Systems Southwest in Phoenix.

U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow sentenced Morris Gary Hibbitt, who also is required to register as a sex offender.

On May 21, 2023, while on duty as the security supervisor at BSS, Hibbitt sexually assaulted a female inmate under his supervision, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona.

BSS is a residential reentry center contracted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to aid inmates in their transition back into the community while completing their prison sentences. Inmates at BSS are in official detention and remain under the custodial authority of federal bureau, the release stated.

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