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Press Release
Press Release
WAYCROSS, GA: A correctional officer at a privately-operated federal prison has been indicted on multiple counts of accepting bribes from an inmate and lying about it to investigators.
Micheal Eaddy, 23, of Blackshear, Ga., a correctional officer at D. Ray James Correctional Facility, a privately prison operated under federal contract in Folkston, Ga., was indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts of Bribery, one count of Providing Contraband in Prison, and one count of False Statement, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The charges carry possible punishment of up to 15 years in prison, and there is no parole in the federal system.
In the same indictment, Jean Civil, 24, of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, an inmate at D. Ray James, is charged with Possessing Contraband in Prison after being found in possession of a cell phone. The charge carries possible punishment of up to one year in prison. Civil is serving a 78-month sentence for Conspiracy to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Cocaine.
“Crimes inside our federally operated prison system can have a dangerous and damaging effect on community safety outside the prisons,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “When guards violate their oaths and provide inmates with access to illegal materials, it reduces the ability to maintain order on the inside while facilitating criminal activity outside.”
According to the indictment, Eaddy is alleged to have accepted seven bribes totaling nearly $900 in return for smuggling cigarettes into the prison. He also is alleged to have denied accepting multiple bribes in return for smuggling contraband into the prison, instead claiming that he had conducted only one transaction. Investigators discovered the activity after seizing the contraband phone from Civil and examining its contents, which included electronic conversations between Civil and Eaddy.
Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
“Contraband in prisons, specifically cell phones, poses a danger to correctional officers, prison staff, and the public,” said James F. Boyersmith, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Miami Field Office. “Our agents will continue to investigate any Department of Justice employees, including correctional officers, who violate the law by smuggling contraband into federal prisons.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcela C. Mateo.
Barry L. Paschal, Public Affairs Officer (Contractor): 912-652-4422