A 31-year-old Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy was arrested for allegedly raping two inmates at a women's jail, the department said Thursday.

Sheriff Jim McDonnell identified the deputy as Giancarlo Scotti, a 10-year veteran of the department. The department said in a news release that the deputy is facing "serious allegations of criminal misconduct while on duty."

A female inmate reported the allegations to authorities. A subsequent investigation revealed that there were two alleged victims at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, McDonnell said.

McDonnell called the alleged behavior "disgusting" and a "violation of public trust and the law."

"The crime of this nature is horrific," McDonnell said. "Criminal misconduct, especially criminal misconduct that preys on a vulnerable population, will not be tolerated and will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," McDonnell said. "We have a public obligation to follow the evidence and the facts. We have a moral duty to assure our public and the inmates in our care that we take these allegations very seriously."



Scotti was on duty when he was arrested Wednesday, just hours after the department received the allegations of misconduct, McDonnell said.

"At this time there's no indication or evidence that any other personnel were involved and the focus of this investigation remains on one individual," the sheriff said.



Jail records indicated Scotti, booked on suspicion of rape under color of authority, was released after posting bond. An initial court date was scheduled for next month. It was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney.

He was placed on administrative leave.

The detention center reopened in 2006 as an all-female jail It has a 2,100-inmate capacity and serves as the booking center for LASD's Century and Compton station for female prisoners.

Lynwood is about 15 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

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