Three federal Bureau of Prisons employees of the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy, located in Inez, Kentucky, were indicted on Thursday, for federal civil rights violations, specifically violating an individual’s rights under the color of law and of falsifying records to impede an investigation (press release available here).
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky alleges that in April 2021, Samuel Patrick and Clinton Pauley assaulted an inmate in the lieutenant’s office at Big Sandy. Kevin Pearce and a subordinate prison employee witnessed the assault. Pearce asked that employee to write an untruthful report omitting the assault.
The memorandum stated another employee was present in the office with the victim and stated the victim left the office without incident, leaving out the assault. Patrick and Pauley are also alleged to have written memos to cover up the assault.
The indictment further alleges that Pauley previously assaulted another inmate on March 26, 2021, while the inmate was being escorted away from the lieutenants’ office of USP Big Sandy and that he subsequently wrote a false incident report to cover up that assault.