Former Northern Virginia prison guard receives 6 1/2 years in prison for drug and sex trafficking

A former deputy sheriff at a northern Virginia prison was sentenced to six and a half years in prison Wednesday for smuggling drugs into the prison and running a sex trafficking operation from a Baltimore apartment.

Robert T. Sanford Jr., 37, worked as a night shift correctional officer at the Fairfax County Jail between 2021 and 2023, according to court records.

He admitted that he smuggled drugs and a phone, including fentanyl and cocaine, to a prison inmate for distribution among other inmates. He gave the inmate inside information about internal investigations and directed him to inmates who were cooperating with law enforcement and intimidated those inmates.

Outside of his work as a guard, prosecutors say Sanford was a pimp who trafficked women and supplied them with drugs.

“There is a significant difference between someone who simply recruits companions or uses drugs to relieve stress and escape from everyday life and someone who provides shelter and drugs to opioid-addicted and homeless women in exchange for sexual acts and financial gain,” prosecutors wrote.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said Sanford “exploited the vulnerability of those in his care. His corruption was not limited to profiting from the addictions of the inmates entrusted to his care. Instead of helping homeless and addicted members of his community, Sanford lured them into a life of prostitution with drugs for his own benefit.”

The sentence imposed on Thursday by the U.S. District Court in Alexandria was roughly the same as the sentence sought by prosecutors and longer than the four-year prison sentence requested by Sanford's public defender.

Sanford apologized for his behavior in a letter to the judge.

“I will continue to go to therapy to make sure I stay on the right path,” he wrote. “I deeply regret my actions and the harm they have caused.”

Sanford's lawyer said mental health issues contributed to his crimes.