Former lieutenant at eastern Kentucky penitentiary sentenced to prison in assault case

FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WCHS) — A Floyd County man who served as a lieutenant at an eastern Kentucky penitentiary was sentenced to prison Wednesday for falsifying records related to the assaults of inmates.

Michael Childers, 47, of Harold, Ky., was sentenced to 17 months in prison following a case that dates back to 2021 at U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy in Inez, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Childers pleaded guilty to being present when an inmate was assaulted by fellow staff members and then writing an incident report that falsely claimed the inmate had struck him with his head and a closed fist.

Prosecutors said Childers admitted to writing the statements knowing they were false in an attempt to “ impede the administration of justice regarding the investigation of the unlawful assault on the inmate,” the news release said.

Under federal law, Childers must serve 85% of his prison sentence, according to the news release. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for one year.

Childers is the final defendant to be sentenced for the assault.

Former Lt. Terry Melvin pleaded guilty to conspiracy against rights and violating an individual’s rights under the color of law. He was sentenced to 48 months in prison.

Another former lieutenant, Kevin Pearce was convicted of writing false reports that covered up the assaults of inmates and was sentenced to 66 months.

A third former lieutenant, Ryan Elliott, pleaded guilty to assaulting an inmate and writing a false report about the assault of a second inmate in an unrelated incident. He was sentenced in 2024 to 12 months and one day in prison.

Case management coordinator Samuel Patrick and captain’s secretary Clinton Pauley pleaded guilty to their roles in the assaults of inmates and were sentenced in 2023 to 36 and 40 months respectively.