Chowchilla state prison official arrested for child sex crimes

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- An associate warden at the Central California Women's Facility is now facing child sex abuse charges after a two-month long investigation.

For the past several years at the facility Travis Wright has watched over inmates, but on Monday he found himself on the other side of those bars.

Madera County Sheriff's deputies arrested 44-year-old Wright for several counts of sexual abuse. The charges resulted after a two-month investigation into crimes that happened more than 15 years ago.

"It's very common with victims of juvenile sexual abuse for them to either not report, delayed report, or sometimes the reports go unheeded," Madera County Sheriff Jay Varney explained.

Documents indicate the victim was not even 14-years-old at the time.

Deputies say the two were acquaintances and the victim only recently felt comfortable enough to report. That delay in time makes the allegations more challenging to prove.

"It's just as horrendous for the victim, but, yes, it does make it more difficult," Varney said. "Because obviously 15 to 20 years later you don't have a crime scene."

Wright was most recently an associate warden in Chowchilla, where deputies say they also interviewed prison staff.

"There is no indication he's ever engaged in this kind of activity with anyone either employee or incarcerated at the prison," Varney said.

His crimes aren't believed to extend to the workplace but deputies say he will be spending some extra time behind bars.

He was booked to the Madera County Jail Monday afternoon.