Three Kentucky Correctional Officers Face Additional Civil Rights Charges for Assaulting Inmates and Attempting to Cover it Up

A federal grand jury in London, Kentucky, filed a superseding indictment in opposition to three federal correctional officers — two officers and a lieutenant — for his or her respective roles in assaults in opposition to three federal inmates and subsequent cover-ups.

Officers Samuel Patrick, 41, Clinton Pauley, 40, and Lieutenant Kevin Pearce, 37, had beforehand been indicted in reference to the assaults of two federal inmates, C.T. and N.D, and subsequent cover-ups. The superseding indictment brings new expenses for his or her assault of a 3rd federal inmate, E.G., and makes an attempt to cowl it up. 

The superseding indictment alleges that, on March 30, 2021, Patrick and Pauley, who have been officers on the U.S. Penitentiary-Huge Sandy, and Lieutenant Pearce, who was a supervisory officer, bodily assaulted an inmate, recognized within the indictment as E.G., violating that inmate’s constitutional rights. The indictment additionally alleges that the assault resulted in bodily harm and that the defendants tried to cowl up the assault by writing false reviews. The indictment additionally expenses Patrick and Pearce with witness tampering primarily based on their efforts to stress a fellow correctional officer to jot down an untruthful report. Lastly, the indictment expenses Pauley with making false statements to brokers of the Division of Justice Workplace of the Inspector Normal and the FBI.

The utmost penalties for the charged crimes are 10 years of imprisonment for the assault offenses and 20 years of imprisonment for every of the witness tampering and false report offenses.

Assistant Lawyer Normal Kristen Clarke of the Division of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; U.S. Lawyer Carlton S. Shier for the Jap District of Kentucky; Particular Agent in Cost William J. Hannah of the Division of Justice Workplace of the Inspector Normal’s Chicago Subject Workplace; and Particular Agent in Cost Jodi Cohen of the FBI Louisville Subject Division made the announcement. 

The Workplace of the Inspector Normal and the FBI carried out the investigation. Assistant U.S. Lawyer Zachary Dembo for the Jap District of Kentucky is prosecuting the case in partnership with Trial Lawyer Thomas Johnson of the Civil Rights Division. 

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed harmless till confirmed responsible past an inexpensive doubt in a courtroom of regulation.