TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- A federal corrections officer in Terre Haute stands accused of accepting bribes to allow prisoners to leave prison grounds for sex and to let them bring women and contraband into the prison.
Leon Perry III, 41, of Linton, Indiana, was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiracy for an officer to permit escape, conspiracy to bribe public officials, officer permitting escape, public official accepting a bribe and providing contraband in a prison.
Perry is a 10-year veteran of the Bureau of Prisons most recently assigned as the reservation patrol officer at the Federal Correctional Institute in Terre Haute.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office accuses Perry of accepting bribes in exchange for agreeing to be on a different part of the medium-security facility’s grounds when inmates left to have sex with women in nearby hotels..
Federal prosecutors also accuse Perry of accepting cash and prescription medication to allow prisoners to have sex with unauthorized visitors on prison grounds, and to allow contraband into the facility.
“Mr. Perry put the safety and welfare of the inmates, correctional officers, the institution and the entire Terre Haute community in jeopardy by allowing this to occur,” U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler said in a written statement. “He allowed greed and power to betray the confidence we place in prison officials.”
If convicted on all counts, Perry faces up to 15 years in prison.
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