A former corrections officer at a Long Island jail has been sentenced to 18 months in jail and allowed to resign as part of a plea deal after repeatedly sexually assaulting an inmate between June and August 2023. Jason Middleton, 37, pleaded guilty to criminal sexual abuse and official misconduct, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.
Middleton, who had been on the job since 2019, used his authority to threaten and coerce the unidentified female inmate into performing oral sex on him. Prosecutors stated that Middleton escorted the inmate to a utility walkway known to be a blind spot for security cameras and threatened to plant contraband in her cell if she refused his demands.
"The vast majority of correction officers uphold their duties with the honesty and professionalism our justice system depends on — [but] this defendant took advantage of the trust placed with him to commit an outrageous abuse of power and a serious crime," Tierney said in a statement. "My office will continue to prosecute such cases vigorously to safeguard the public’s trust."
Middleton was arrested in November 2023 and suspended without pay. His resignation, agreed to in June, means he will not be officially fired. While Middleton had fewer than five years of service, making him ineligible for a public pension, it remains unclear if the resignation will benefit him in other ways.
As part of the plea agreement, Middleton is also required to register as a sex offender. His risk level assessment is expected next summer. It is currently undetermined whether he will serve his sentence at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverhead, where he worked, or at the county's other facility in Yaphank.
This case is reportedly part of a larger pattern in Suffolk County where law enforcement officers found guilty of misconduct have been allowed to resign rather than be terminated. Previous reports indicate instances where officers were permitted to remain employed until their pensions vested, leading to significant costs for taxpayers and allowing officers who admitted wrongdoing to continue working until they reached 20 years of service.