Former Alabama Department of Corrections Officer Sentenced to Prison for Bribery

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A former Alabama Department of Corrections Officer has been sentenced for bribery, announced U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona.

U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced John Paul Ketteman, 28, of Huntsville, to 15 months in prison for receipt of a bribe by an agent of an organization receiving federal funds.

According to the plea agreement, Ketteman was employed as a corrections officer at the Alabama Department of Correction’s Limestone Correctional Facility in Harvest, Alabama. Ketteman’s job duties included inspecting prison cells for contraband and supervising inmates. In the Fall of 2022, ADOC’s Law Enforcement Services Division began an investigation into contraband being smuggled into the Limestone Facility by corrections officers. As part of the investigation, Cash App records were obtained for Ketteman’s account. These records revealed that in less than three months in 2022, Ketteman was paid more than $10,000 to smuggle contraband into the Limestone Facility and to act as a lookout.  

The FBI and the United States Secret Service investigated the case. ADOC’s Law Enforcement Services Division provided valuable assistance during the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Hundscheid prosecuted the case.