BEAUMONT, Texas — A former federal correctional officer has been sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison for assaulting an inmate.
Tavoris Bottley, 35, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and a year of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office.
Bottley, who was a senior correctional officer, pleaded guilty in December 2019 to one charge of violating the civil rights of an inmate in his custody the release said.
Court testimony and plea documents show that in June 2017 Bottley punched an inmate in the face and head multiple times without justification according to the release.
He admitted that he and his then-supervisor, Lt. Khristal Ford, entered the locked cell of an inmate with the intent to assault him for being disrespectful and throwing a food tray the release said.
He admitted that the inmate posed no threat at the time he punched him.
“Correctional officers work hard every day to enforce the rules and ensure order within our prisons,” U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox Eastern District of Texas was quoted in the release as saying. “When an officer acts like a schoolyard bully, it undermines the important work of all correctional officers and disrupts the very law and order they have sworn to protect.”
Ford pleaded guilty in May 2019 to her part in the assault and was sentenced in January 2020 to 24 months in prison.
Ford aided and abetted the assault and later submitted reports that omitted any reference to the assault in an an attempt to cover it up the release said.
From the U.S. Attorney's office...
A former Senior Correctional Officer at the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) in Beaumont, Texas, was sentenced yesterday in federal court for assaulting an inmate housed at the facility.
“The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting correctional officers who use their position of authority to harm others, as opposed to upholding the duties of their job and protecting the individuals in their care,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division.
“Correctional officers work hard every day to enforce the rules and ensure order within our prisons,” said U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox Eastern District of Texas. “When an officer acts like a schoolyard bully, it undermines the important work of all correctional officers and disrupts the very law and order they have sworn to protect.”
Tavoris Bottley, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield to 18 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release. Bottley previously pleaded guilty on Dec. 5, 2019, to one count of violating the civil rights of an inmate in his custody.
According to plea documents and information presented in court, on June 8, 2017, while on duty as a federal correctional officer at FCC Beaumont, Bottley punched A.A, an inmate, in the face and head multiple times without justification. Bottley admitted that he and his supervisor, Khristal Ford, intentionally unlocked and entered the secured cell where A.A. was being held with the intention of assaulting the inmate for being disrespectful and throwing a food tray. Bottley admitted that he then punched A.A., even though A.A. did not pose any threat at the time.
BOP Lieutenant Khristal Ford previously pleaded guilty on May 29, 2019, to aiding and abetting in the assault of A.A., and admitted to submitting written reports that omitted any reference to the assault in an effort to cover up the incident and make it appear justified. Ford was sentenced on Jan. 8, 2020, to 24 months in prison.
This case was investigated by the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Katherine G. DeVar of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Anderson of the Eastern District of Texas.
