Illinois Department Of Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty To Violating Inmate’s Federal Civil Rights

Dustin A. Fleming, 30, of DuQuoin, Illinois, who is employed as a correctional officer by the Illinois Department of Corrections, pled guilty today in United States District Court in Benton to an information charging him with depriving an inmate of his federal civil rights, announced Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. The felony information to which Fleming pled guilty alleged that on October 15, 2016, Fleming assaulted and caused 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.

Sentencing was set for October 18, 2017, at 10:30 a.m., at the United States District Courthouse in Benton. Fleming faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release to follow any term of incarceration imposed. Fleming was placed on bond pending sentencing.

Fleming has been on administrative leave from the Illinois Department of Corrections since the assault occurred.

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