BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a former
corrections officer at the federal prison for women in Alabama to 1½ years in
prison for committing a sexual act with an inmate and lying about his contact
with her while he worked at the facility. U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and
Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, Miami Field Office,
Special Agent in Charge Robert A. Bourbon announced the sentence.
U.S. District Judge Virginia E. Hopkins sentenced JESSE
BAILEY, 28, of Carrolton, Ala., on one count each of abusive sexual contact and
making false statements to the government. Bailey pleaded guilty to the charges
in December.
“This defendant now enters the prison system as an inmate
rather than a guard and will learn how critically important it is that
corrections officers honor their responsibility to supervise and protect
inmates,” Town said. “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the
safety of inmates and my office continues to work with the Office of Inspector
General to investigate incidents of alleged abuse by correctional staff.”
“Bailey abused the trust of inmates, staff and the public,
and when confronted, he lied to cover up his actions,” stated Bourbon. “Today’s
sentence serves as a reminder that no correctional officer is above the law.
The DOJ OIG thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its diligent efforts to help
bring this case to a successful conclusion.”
Bailey worked as a corrections officer at the Federal
Correctional Institution at Aliceville, a low-security prison for women, from
January 2015 to August 2016. He had direct custodial, supervisory and
disciplinary authority over inmates, including the victim.
In January 2016, Bailey was assigned to the prison dorm unit
where the victim was housed and soon began a flirtation with her that resulted
in the sexual act that took place in a staff bathroom near the dorm unit. Over
the course of the flirtation that lasted several weeks, Bailey began
communicating with the woman, even when he was not assigned to her dorm,
including by email and telephone, according to his plea. Such communication
between corrections officers and inmates is strictly prohibited.
Agents from the FBI and the DOJ OIG
interviewed Bailey at FCI Aliceville in August 2016 about allegations of
improper communications and sexual contact with the inmate. Bailey falsely
denied the sexual contact and told the agents he had never communicated with
the victim or other inmates by phone or email outside of his assigned role as a
corrections officer, according to his plea.
DOJ OIG investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney
Xavier O. Carter Sr. prosecuted.
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