An inmate at the Duchesne County Jail flushed paper down the toilet, causing sewage to back up into the jail cells
- May 13
- 2 min read
| by Travis Uresk | May 13th, 2026 |
Duchesne, Utah (5/10/26)—At the Duchesne County Jail, 36-year-old Sean Davion Souza intentionally flooded the H-Block housing of the jail by tearing up jail-issued books and other paper materials and flushing them into the sewer system, causing the main sewer line to H-Block to become obstructed.
After creating the blockage, Souza repeatedly flushed the toilet in his cell, causing sewage, urine, feces, and contaminated water to backflow through the floor drains and flood the housing section.
Souza's actions caused significant disruption to jail operations, requiring the relocation of inmates in an exigent manner, the shutdown of the housing unit's water and sewer systems, extensive cleanup, and repeated maintenance responses. Maintenance personnel spent numerous hours attempting to clear sewer blockages caused by Souza during this and prior similar incidents. The current incident was severe enough that outside sewer contractors may be required to remedy the blockage.
During the investigation, Deputy Woodhouse discovered three prior incidents in which Souza intentionally caused sewer blockages and flooding at the Duchesne County Jail. In each incident, Souza intentionally damaged the jail's sewer system and housing area by tearing and flushing materials to obstruct the sewer line and flooding the section.
Video surveillance from both the inmate cell camera and H-Block camera systems captured Souza's actions and the resulting flooding incidents. Photographs were also taken documenting the damage, contamination, and flooding conditions.
Based on witness statements, video evidence, prior related incidents, maintenance information, and the totality of the circumstances, there is probable cause to believe Sean Souza committed three separate violations of damaging a Jail or other place of confinement for each flooding and damage incident identified during the investigation.
Traffic and Criminal Report
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