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Former Rockbridge County Jail Superintendent Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison
ROANOKE, Va. – John Marshall Higgins, the former superintendent of the Rockbridge County Regional Jail, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for charges related to federal civil rights violations and public corruption.
According to court documents, Higgins, 62, a former member of the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors, was convicted following a six-day bench trial in 2020 of three counts of deprivation of civil rights, one count of conspiracy to commit mail and honest services fraud, and two counts of mail and honest services fraud for accepting things of value in exchange for engaging in official acts.
Higgins, the former jail superintendent, failed to protect the rights of inmates at the regional jail by failing to provide an inmate with medical treatment and failing to protect that inmate from physical abuse from other inmates, which resulted in bodily injury. On multiple occasions Higgins was made aware of abusive conduct towards certain inmates and did nothing to prevent the abuse from occurring. On one occasion, Higgins refused to allow an inmate with potentially serious injuries to be seen by a physician for three days. The inmate was only provided medical care after other staff members sent the inmate to the hospital emergency room.
In addition, evidence demonstrated that Higgins agreed to accept things of value from the family and friends of an inmate at the Rockbridge Regional Jail in exchange for providing preferential treatment to the inmate. These family members and friends provided at least $3,000 in payments and other items to a scholarship fund operated by Higgins and his family. Higgins upgraded the cable package at the jail, unsupervised contact visits with family and friends at the jail and at a farm located in Rockbridge County, and deliveries of ice cream from Higgins to the inmate.
“Higgins violated the public trust placed in him as jail superintendent,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bubar said. “He repeatedly interfered with certain sentences handed down by Virginia courts, taking matters into his own hands by allowing the abuse of certain inmates, but treating another inmate favorably to enrich himself.”
“The responsibility of investigating federal Civil Rights and Color of Law violations rests with the FBI, regardless of an individual’s status amongst our community or law enforcement affiliation,” Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI’s Richmond Division said.
Higgins, a former member of the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for charges related to federal civil rights violations and public corruption. The sentence was handed down on an exact date not specified.
Higgins was convicted of deprivation of civil rights, conspiracy to commit mail and honest services fraud, and mail and honest services fraud. His total sentence time is 51 months in federal prison. Higgins was also involved with a $3,000 scholarship fund which was used to bribe him and in exchange he provided inmates with unfair treatment and luxuries.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Public Corruption|Civil Rights
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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