Former staffer’s sexual abuse case omitted from audit as Marana prison slated for ICE use

During spring 2022 at Arizona State Prison-Marana, Alicia Simmons, a commissary clerk for Management and Training Corporation, engaged in repeated sexual relations with an inmate, a fact she later admitted and for which she was terminated and subjected to a search warrant. A PREA compliance packet was prepared, but the subsequent October 2023 PREA audit reported zero sexual abuse incidents, omitting Simmons’ case and two other allegations.

Whistleblowers Alex Randall and an anonymous former employee testified that the warden, Jeremy Casey, and other officials were fully aware of the allegations. After the prison’s 2023 closure, the state sold the facility back to MTC in 2025, and ICE intends to convert it into a detention center with capacity roughly tripled to 1,300 beds, despite criticism from community leaders and advocacy groups about MTC’s track record. Critics argue the hidden abuse and broader operational issues raise serious concerns about the suitability of the site for expanded immigration detention.