Former Illinois Department of Corrections Officer Sentenced to Four Months in Federal Prison for Violating Inmate's Federal Civil Rights

Dustin A. Fleming, 31, of DuQuoin, Illinois, formerly employed as a correctional officer by the Illinois Department of Corrections, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Benton to a term of four months in federal prison for violating an inmate’s civil rights, announced Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. Fleming previously pled guilty on July 18, 2017, to an information charging him with assaulting and causing bodily injury to a handcuffed inmate at the Pinckneyville Correctional Center by choking, punching, kneeing, and kicking the inmate without any legal justification in violation of the United States Constitution. The offense occurred on October 15, 2016.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, Fleming was ordered to pay to the United States fines and special assessments totaling $200 and was placed on a two-year term of supervised release to follow his incarceration. Fleming’s employment with the Illinois Department of Corrections was terminated following his guilty plea.

The investigation leading to the charges and guilty plea was conducted by the Illinois State Police with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Illinois Department of Corrections. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.