A San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Deputy charged with a felony count of assault under color of authority and a misdemeanor sexual battery has been released on his own recognizance following his first court appearance.
Danny Swanson, 47, was charged on Monday after an investigation into a complaint lodged by a county jail inmate presented enough evidence for the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s office to file charges.
According to the complaint, in November of 2017 Swanson made unwanted sexual advances on a female inmate at the San Joaquin County Honor Farm during transportation. The allegations came to light when the inmate reported the incident to a correctional officer, sparking an investigation. The advances allegedly came when Swanson was transporting the woman to the San Joaquin General Hospital for treatment for a medical issue from September 25, 2017 through November 6, 2017.
Detectives from the Sherriff’s Office conferred with representatives from the District Attorney’s office, resulting in the charges that were issued on Monday.
Swanson appeared in San Joaquin County Superior Court on Tuesday for arraignment. The request of his counsel to release him on his own recognizance was granted.
He is next scheduled to appear in court on April 17 at 8:30 a.m. in Department 8B for further arraignment.
Swanson is the third San Joaquin County Sherriff’s Deputy to be arrested and charged with assault this month after a video showing correctional officer Matthew Mettler striking a handcuffed and hooded inmate in the head was released by the District Attorney’s office. The following week, the Sheriff’s office disclosed via its Facebook page that correctional officer Ray De Jesus had been arraigned on March 19 on charges of assault after he struck an inmate multiple times during an altercation back on Dec. 10, 2017.
San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore, who said publicly that he supported the charges against Mettler, weighed in on the recent revelations in a departmental Facebook post on Monday.
“Sadly, we have had more than one incident in the jail come to light in the past six months,” Moore wrote. “While unrelated, the cases all share the common thread in that our investigators and DA’s office worked diligently to seek justice, and we will continue to do so in the future.”

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.