Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Anthony J. Annucci, Acting Commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (“DOCCS”),announced today the unsealing of a criminal complaint charging a former New York State Correction Officer in the sexual assault of a female inmate (“Victim-1”) at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women (the “Bedford Facility”). JEFFREY GREEN, then a correction officer at the Bedford Facility, was charged with assaulting and forcing himself upon Victim-1 by licking, biting, kissing, fondling, groping, and restraining her against her will, in violation of her civil rights under the United States Constitution. GREEN was arrested today on charges contained in a Criminal Complaint and is expected to be presented in federal court later today.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, Jeffrey Green, a former New York State correction officer at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, entered a prison cell, pushed a defenseless female inmate against a wall, and sexually assaulted her. Green’s alleged predatory conduct not only betrayed his duty as an officer to protect those under his charge, but violated our Constitution. The protections of our Constitution do not end at our prisons’ walls, and when inmates’ civil rights are violated, as they allegedly were here, we will act.”
DOCCS Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci said:“DOCCS has zero tolerance for any criminal activity involving staff or inmates within our facilities. This latest arrest highlights the successful investigation by the Department’s Office of Special Investigations, Westchester County District Attorney and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District, all cooperating in this pursuit of justice.”
According to the Complaint[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
The Bedford Facility is a jail complex located in Bedford Hills, in Westchester County, New York, maintained by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. At the time of the assault, Victim-1 was an inmate incarcerated at the Bedford Facility.
In the late evening hours of March 10, 2016, GREEN unlocked and opened the cell of Victim-1, and entered her cell unaccompanied by any other correction officer or other Bedford Facility staff. GREEN then grabbed Victim-1 by her arms, held her with her back against the wall of her cell, and began to lick, kiss, and bite her neck area, and to fondle her chest. After Victim-1 pushed GREEN away, he grabbed her, pushed her up against the wall of her cell, and again forced himself on her. GREEN then pulled up the shirt and bra of Victim-1 and bit, licked, and kissed her neck, chest, and breast and nipple areas, and fondled Victim-1’s groin area. The assault stopped only when GREEN was interrupted by the arrival of another correction officer knocking on a door to be admitted into the unit, upon which GREEN immediately departed Victim-1’s cell.
Victim-1 reported the assault the following morning, and a medical examination produced samples taken from Victim-1’s neck, left breast, and right breast that gave positive results with a presumptive test for saliva. A swab from Victim-1’s left breast generated a single-source male profile. Surveillance video and audio recordings from the Bedford Facility show GREEN entering Victim-1’s cell without any other correction officer the evening of March 10 and also audibly saying at one point “[y]ou ready [unintelligible] me my blow job?”
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JEFFREY GREEN, 48, of Brooklyn, New York, is charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The statutory maximum penalty is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Office of Special Investigations and the Criminal Investigators at the United States Attorney’s Office.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights and Public Corruption Units. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex Rossmiller and Ellen Blain are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.