Former Vermont Corrections Officer Sentenced To 5 Months Incarceration And 5 Months Home Confinement In Connection With Plea To Obstruction Of Justice

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on October 16, 2014, former Vermont Correctional Officer Tracy Holliman, of South Burlington, was sentenced to 5 months incarceration followed by 5 months home confinement by United States District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford in Rutland.   The Grand Jury initially returned an Indictment charging Holliman with four counts of engaging in sexual acts with women over whom he had custodial authority while they were held in federal custody at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington.  Court papers explained that Holliman pleaded to obstruction of justice in connection with his efforts to delete emails in which he admitted to some of the originally charged conduct.  At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing the Court granted the United States’ motion to dismiss the original Indictment.

It is a federal felony for a correctional officer to engage in sexual acts with a federal inmate over whom the officer has custodial, supervisory, or disciplinary authority, while working at a federal facility or one that that contracts with the United States to house federal detainees.  Consent is not a legal defense to corrections staff who engage in sexual acts with inmates.  The United States Attorney has noted that this is due to several factors, including the significant power disparity between inmates and correctional staff.

Working in cooperation with the Vermont Department of Corrections, this matter was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Vermont State Police.