Eric Todd Ellis, Sex Abuse & Witness Tampering, Alabama 2020

Former BOP Officer Pleads Guilty to Sex Abuse and Witness Tampering

A former Bureau of Prisons (BOP) corrections officer was sentenced for sex abuse and witness tampering in a federal court in Alabama. Eric Todd Ellis, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a ward and one count of tampering with a witness.

The crime occurred on June 11, 2020, when Ellis knowingly engaged in a sexual act with a female inmate in the back of the laundry room of the FCI-Aliceville facility in Aliceville, Alabama. At the time, Ellis was on-duty and acting in his capacity as a corrections officer. The female inmate was in official detention and under Ellis's custodial authority.

Ellis subsequently admitted his conduct to another corrections officer. The U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General began investigating Ellis's conduct while that investigation was ongoing. Ellis made statements to that corrections officer, on a recorded call, in reference to the federal investigation and his conduct. Ellis admitted in the plea agreement that he made those statements because he was attempting to persuade that other corrections officer to provide false information to OIG agents about his sexual abuse of the female inmate.

"Inmates detained inside jails and prisons have the right to be free from sexual assaults and sexually abusive behavior. Corrections officers who commit sexual assault have no place inside the Bureau of Prisons," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

Ellis is scheduled to be sentenced on October 26. The case was investigated by the Atlanta Division of the OIG. Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Posey and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Mark of the Northern District of Alabama and Special Litigation Counsel Fara Gold and Trial Attorney Anna Gotfryd of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

The incident highlights the need for accountability among corrections officers. "The Department of Justice will continue to hold accountable prison employees who exploit their positions of power to sexually abuse individuals in their custody, and then attempt to cover up their misconduct," said U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.

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