Former Oklahoma Private Prisoner Transport Officer Sentenced for Sexually Assaulting Pretrial Detainee

A former private prisoner transport officer was sentenced in the Northern District of Oklahoma to 15 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for violating a male pretrial detainee’s civil rights by sexually assaulting him.

According to the plea agreement, at the time of the offense, Dewayne Lewis Dudley, 56, worked as a private prisoner transport officer for Blue Raven Services. As a private prisoner transport officer, Dudley performed the government function of picking up individuals who were arrested on out-of-state warrants and transporting those individuals back to the jurisdictions that issued the warrants. On Aug. 26, 2021, Dudley picked up the victim, a male pretrial detainee, from a jail in Booneville, Indiana, to transport him to a jail in Los Lunas, New Mexico.

On Aug. 27, 2021, before arriving in New Mexico, Dudley stopped the transport vehicle at a Holiday Inn Express, located in Marshfield, Missouri, where he rented a room. Dudley brought the handcuffed victim into the hotel room and told him to shower. After the victim showered, Dudley pointed a gun at the victim and told him to undress. Dudley then proceeded to grope the victim’s genitals. When the victim’s penis did not become erect, Dudley handcuffed himself to the victim, before going to sleep. Several hours later, Dudley resumed transporting the victim, before stopping the transport van at Dudley’s apartment, located in Claremore, Oklahoma. Against the victim’s protests, Dudley brought the handcuffed victim inside his apartment. While inside his apartment, Dudley again groped the victim’s genitals, causing the victim bodily injury. The victim said, “No!” and was able to break free and run outside of Dudley’s apartment. As part of the plea agreement, Dudley admitted that the victim did not consent to any of the sexual conduct, that there was no legitimate law enforcement purpose for it and that the sexual misconduct resulted in bodily injury to victim and included kidnapping.

“The defendant kidnapped and sexually assaulted a man entrusted to his care and custody, exploiting his authority and depriving this victim of his constitutional right to bodily integrity,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This sentence sends a clear message that the Justice Department is committed to protecting victims of sexual violence carried out at the hands of law enforcement officials. The privatization of positions in law enforcement does not affect our determination to hold these individuals accountable when they violate our federal civil rights laws.”

“Dudley had a legal obligation to provide safe transport to the prisoner in his custody instead he violated him and his rights,” said U.S. Attorney Clinton J. Johnson for the Northern District of Oklahoma. “Our office is committed to protecting the judicial process and that includes protecting the rights of the accused.”

“The American public has an absolute right to trust that law enforcement officials will protect them, regardless of their class, status or creed. Dewayne Dudley violated that trust when he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a detainee in his care,” said Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. “Safeguarding the civil rights that every American is entitled to is fundamental to the FBI’s mission. We will continue to work tirelessly alongside our law enforcement partners to ensure predators like Dudley are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The FBI Oklahoma City Field Office investigated this case.

Trial Attorney Laura Gilson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Compton for the Northern District of Oklahoma prosecuted this case.