The mystery surrounding last week’s three-prisoner jailbreak from a maximum-security prison in in Orange County has begun to unravel with the arrest of Nooshafarin Ravaghi, a Santa Ana English as a second language (ESL) teacher.
Dangerous criminals Hossein Nayeri, Jonathan Tieu and Bac Duong cut through four layers of heavy metals; traveled through plumbing tunnels and an air duct; climbed onto the jail roof, then used a line of knotted bedsheets and linens to make their escape.
Law enforcement and security officials had indicated that the three had outside help.
Ravaghi, 44, taught ESL as a contract employee with the jail, according to the Los Angeles Times. Nayeri took Ravaghi’s class and the two became friendly with each other. Ravaghi’s personal website states that she was born in Iran and grew up in Tehran, according to the report. She studied in Tehran and Paris before moving to California in 1997. She also wrote a “multicultural” children’s book series centered around “tolerance.”
Orange Country Sherrif’s Department spokesman Lt. Jeffrey Hallock stated that police believe Ravaghi “directly contributed to the escape and provided credible planning tools.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement informed Breitbart News that Nayeri was brought to the U.S. as a legal permanent resident as a child. Like Ravaghi, the man one OC prosecutor called “Hannibal Lecter” was born in Iran, according to the Orange County Register. Siblings raised him in Fresno, California. He fled to Iran in 2012 to escape charges of torture and murder. FBI officials recaptured him in 2013.
“We continue to get information from her,” Hallock said speaking of Ravaghi according to the report. “We have a certain amount of information she has provided thus far. But again she has denied bringing in any tools to this point. She did provide some tools for planning such as maps.”
Duong was first ordered deported in 1998 to his home country of Vietnam.
Ten people have been arrested in the course of searching for the three escapees, but the three men themselves remain on the loose, according to most recent reports. A $200,000 reward has been offered for information leading to arrest or the escapees. They are considered dangerous. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana
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