California Governor Gavin Newsom splashed over $189 million on tablets for prisoners, which have been used by pedophiles to groom children on the outside, according to reports.
Newsom approved the huge sum for prisoners to get new digital tablets in February 2025, giving hardened criminals a way to contact their families and entertain themselves during their sentences.
But according to a report from the City Journal, the taxpayer-funded devices have been used by California's worst inmates to enjoy pornography and interact with women and girls from their cells.
A former high-ranking corrections official said that little had been done despite some prisoners being caught using the tablets to find young victims and exchange sexual messages online.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has claimed that prisoners are 'responsible for any unauthorized content found on their device,' but the threat of punishment has reportedly done little to deter them.
Inmates said they can easily evade detection from the CDCR, and have been able to use the tablets to explore their darkest fantasies while confined to their cells.
Among the criminals who have reportedly enjoyed their tablets' access to pornography or girls are serial killers Robert Maury and Samuel Amador and convicted child rapist Nathaniel Ray Diaz.
Maury, who raped and killed at least three women, told journalist Christopher Rufo that he received 'nude pictures' from a 22-year-old German girl he found online.
More than $189 million has been spent on tablets for prisoners which have been used by pedophiles and serial killers, including mass murderer Robert Maury (pictured)
The CDCR downplayed the report in a statement to the City Journal, claiming the tablets are merely 'tightly controlled education tools.'
The department said that the tablets are only used to provide 'access to the Bible, education, and reentry resources that actually reduce crime.'
But inmates who spoke to the outlet claimed they are used for much more.
Nathaniel Ray Diaz, who was convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl, has allegedly used the taxpayer-funded tablet to contact his victim from behind bars.
He allegedly made the girl send him sexually explicit images and speak to him 'for hours every day,' including when she came home from school.
Diaz was allegedly caught violating a no-contact order, and the Eastern District of California Attorney’s Office said Diaz is awaiting trial on additional charges.
Maury admitted that he has received naked pictures from the outside, saying that he was contacted by a young German psychology student who was 'hoping that I would share my story with her for a class project.'
The serial killer said that he received a topless picture from the student in exchange for helping.
California Governor Gavin Newsom greenlit the controversial scheme, which critics say is being abused by inmates who use the devices to access pornography and groom children
The tablets were distributed in at the prison as a way for criminals a way to contact their families and entertain themselves during their sentences
Maury said the tablets have been wildly popular with the worst of the worst, explaining that there are easy ways around restrictions from prison officials.
He said many inmates call someone on the outside to have them 'put porn on their TV,' allowing them to stream X-rated content and 'watch with them.'
Amador, a serial killer and self-described contract killer who murdered at least four men, said he has a catalog of 30-second pornographic clips, which he has on rotation with more wholesome content.
'I watch porn and short clips of my family at the beach,' he said.
Amador said while prison guards try and stop the explicit content, 'we get around their bulls***.'
Douglas Eckenrod, former deputy director of California’s adult parole operations, told the City Journal that he raised fears that inmates would abuse their tablet privileges if they were granted use, but his concerns were swept aside.
He said there are now almost 90,000 tablets across California's prison system, making it near-impossible for them to be monitored all the time.
'I would bet my pension that there’s a vast amount of childhood pornography on the tablets,' he said.
Douglas Eckenrod, former deputy director of California’s adult parole operations, said the abuse of the tablets is widespread, and 'there are probably several thousand [children] that are currently being groomed'
'There are probably several thousand [children] that are currently being groomed.
'We created a pathway for them to reach out and groom folks.
'There are going to be victims that didn’t need to have been victims because of these decisions.'
The Daily Mail has contacted the CDCR for comment.