Original Article Justice Department official calls for strict prison sex-abuse laws Billy House Republic Washington Bureau Apr. 21, 2005 12:00 AM WASHINGTON - Laws against sexual abuse of inmates by federal prison employees need to be strengthened, says the U.S. Justice Department's inspector general. "Misdemeanor penalties do not adequately punish prison employees who commit this crime," Glenn Fine said in testimony before a commission on safety and abuse in America's prisons. Fine told the commission this week that his office has found that many federal prosecutors are simply "not interested" in prosecuting sexual-abuse cases involving federal inmates, regardless of the strength of the evidence, because current law does not constitute many of these crimes as felonies. He said that between Oct. 1, 2002, and Sept. 30, 2004, his office received 658 complaints of inappropriate relationships or sexual abuse of inmates at the federal Bureau of Prisons' 114 correctional institutions. He said those offenses were the most common types of abuse allegations received from inmates involving Bureau of Prisons employees during that period. There also were: 508 complaints of unnecessary force or physical abuse 331 allegations of threatening behavior or verbal abuse 273 allegations of civil rights or civil liberties violations In addition, there were 305 complaints of introduction of drugs, weapons, cell phones or other contraband into the prison. Of the total 1,770 abuse allegations, Fine said, 194 were investigated by his office. Of those, 36 resulted in convictions, while others either resulted in administrative action or were not substantiated. In all, the Bureau of Prisons is responsible for about 181,000 federal offenders, 160,000 of whom are in correctional institutions or detention centers. There are three federal corrections institutions in Arizona, located in Phoenix, Tucson and Safford. The Bureau of Prisons also has a contract with a privately run facility in Eloy. Fine did not say what the 36 abuse convictions obtained by his office specifically related to, or at which prisons these incidents occurred. But he said cases involving staff sexual abuse of inmates annually comprise about 12 percent of his office's total investigations. Fine said one investigation by his office has determined that a correctional officer at a federal medical center had directed inmates to come to his office to place a fictitious phone call. While there, he locked them in and raped them. That officer was sentenced to 12 years in prison for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a ward, abusive sexual contact and assault with the intent to commit a felony. In another case, a BOP doctor assigned to a federal medical center was sentenced to 14 months incarceration and 12 months supervised release after investigators determined that the doctor had sex on several occasions with three female inmates in his office. In addition, he smuggled jewelry into prison for one of the inmates he sexually abused. Despite such cases, Fine said current federal laws criminalizing staff sexual relations with federal prisoners are deficient because they classify many of these incidents as misdemeanors with a maximum prison sentence of one year, unless the prison employee uses force or threats. As a result, he said, many federal prosecutors are not interested in pursuing such cases. But Fine noted that nearly half of the targets in his office's sexual abuse cases also had smuggled contraband into prisons for the inmates with whom they had sexual relationships. "Because prison employees control many aspects of inmates' lives, in most cases prison employees obtain sex from inmates without resorting to the use of force or overt threats," Fine said. He also said that current federal laws covering sexual abuse of inmates do not cover employees who sexually abuse federal inmates in state, local or contract facilities, and that state prosecutors inconsistently prosecute these cases. Reach the reporter at billy.house@arizonarepublic.com.