Former Nurse Assistant Charged with Civil Rights Offense for Striking Resident of the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center

The Justice Department today announced that a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Adrian Wiggins, 53, a former Nurse Assistant at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Memphis, Tennessee, with a civil rights offense. The indictment alleges that, on Jan. 8, 2017, Wiggins repeatedly struck an individual identified by the initials W.B., a resident of the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and caused bodily injury as a result.

The charge provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Memphis Field Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Pritchard and Reagan Taylor of the Western District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney Rachel Kincaid of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.