A DHS case manager was accused of sexually abusing a detainee, but a plea deal charges her only with giving him 'an article of clothing'
Instead of up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, defendant Shantal Hernandez now faces a sentence of up to six months. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 6.
There was supposed to be a trial next week for Shantal Hernandez, a former federal case manager who was charged with sexually abusing a detainee in ICE custody at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. Government prosecutors said they obtained evidence including recorded phone calls and media, including a video of Hernandez performing oral sex on the alleged victim.
That charge carried a maximum 15-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office when the case was unsealed in August 2023.
Instead, Hernandez has accepted a plea deal that requires her to plead guilty only to a misdemeanor charge of “providing or possessing contraband in prison.” She gave the detainee an article of clothing on March 8, 2023, according to the plea deal. (The plea deal doesn’t say what the article of clothing was, although a search warrant from two years ago mentioned that the detainee had a disciplinary hearing for being in possession of women’s underwear from outside the facility.)
Her maximum sentence is now just six months and a $5,000 fine, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 6.
[update: Hernandez’s sentence is time served and no fine. She spent “over a week in jail” after her 2023 arrest, according to her attorney. After receiving a pretrial release, she spent three months with GPS monitoring and a curfew.]
In her role as a case manager with the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security, Hernandez managed complaints filed by ICE detainees throughout San Diego, according to court documents. She had unlimited access to all ICE detention centers.
But on March 28, 2023, an ICE employee filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security Joint Intake Center alleging that Hernandez “had been spending an unusual amount of time” in Otay Mesa with an Iraqi detainee who was awaiting deportation.
A June 20, 2023, search warrant for multiple iPhones, thumb drives, an iPad and other devices belonging to Hernandez detailed her alleged sexual abuse of the detainee, referred to as I.K.N. in court documents.
Hernandez was arrested on Aug. 9, 2023, for sexual abuse of a ward and has been out on bond. Here are a few excerpts from the complaint:
The ICE Office of Professional Responsibility “identified 54 calls between I.K.N. and a phone number belonging to HERNANDEZ. Separately, OPR identified many electronic messages between I.K.N. and accounts used by HERNANDEZ. Many of these communications were explicit and discussed an ongoing sexual relationship.”
“On February 26, 2023, during a phone call between I.K.N. and HERNANDEZ, she reflected on having seen I.K.N.’s genitals. I.K.N. replied that, per his recollection, he had intercourse with HERNANDEZ on at least 13 occasions. In several of these conversations, HERNANDEZ communicates to I.K.N. that she had become pregnant with his child.”
“In the communications, HERNANDEZ told I.K.N. that she had captured video and possessed electronically stored data of their sexual encounters. HERNANDEZ, in her role as an IDCM, was allowed to bring electronic devices into the facility that are otherwise prohibited to the public.”
“On or about July 27, 2023, OPR obtained the contents of HERNANDEZ Apple iCloud account through a search warrant. The content included a video of HERNANDEZ and I.K.N. engaging in sexual contact and a sexual act.”
“Additional photographs located from this search warrant appear to show HERNANDEZ holding a positive pregnancy test. This photograph was taken on March 19, 2023. Another photograph appears to be from an ultrasound with this photograph being taken on March 30, 2023.”
I.K.N. initially denied that he had had any sort of sexual contact with Hernandez, however … “On August 7, 2023, OPR met with I.K.N. at OMDC CoreCivic. OPR Agents showed I.K.N. still shots of the above referenced videos and photographs but I.K.N. was unwilling to provide a statement. Immediately after OPR agents left the facility, I.K.N. called HERNANDEZ and told her that OPR agents had met with him and told her that they had pictures. HERNANDEZ became very quiet. I.K.N. asked HERNANDEZ what he should do, and HERNANDEZ advised him that I.K.N. should do whatever he felt he should do, and the call was disconnected.”
But again, despite all the photo and video evidence the government says it has, Hernandez is now only facing charges for giving I.K.N. a piece of clothing.
Over the past couple months, the case appeared as if it would make it to trial. Attorneys on both sides were making a series of motions in limine, which is a pretrial process of determining what will or won’t be included as evidence during the trial. It’s worth noting that on the government’s side, the case started with Tara McGrath, the Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. But for the last month it has been under the purview of Trump-appointee Adam Gordon.
Meanwhile, I.K.N.’s actual name is Ihab Nadhim, which I’ll disclose because he was not only the alleged victim in the Hernandez case but also currently faces criminal charges in Fresno County for an entirely separate case, which is still pending as of this publication date.
Nadhim was granted a supervised release from Otay Mesa in October 2023, arguing that he was illegally being detained for longer than six months following his original deportation order in January 2023.
Then in January 2024, Nadhim was arrested on charges including kidnapping and battery. He has been in Fresno County jail ever since as the criminal case moves forward. The Fresno courts website shows he has a mental health assessment scheduled on May 21.
[updated June 18, 2025, at 9:20 p.m. PST: two U.S. attorneys who prosecuted the case and a federal courts spokesperson declined comment]
[updated May 18, 2025, at 10:46 p.m. PST: attorneys for Hernandez declined comment]
[correction: updated May 12, 2025, at 9:04 a.m. PST to reflect that Hernandez worked in ICE facilities for the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, not directly for ICE]
Ha, can’t make this up!
I’ve been with her 9 years. I’ve know. Her for 13 years . I went through this with her and almost believed her . She 100% is guilty .