Long Island jail guard who repeatedly sexually abused inmate lands just 18 months behind bars, is allowed to resign

A corrupt corrections officer who repeatedly sexually assaulted an inmate at a Long Island jail landed just 18 months behind bars and was allowed to resign rather than be officially booted under a recent plea deal.Jason Middleton, 37, scored the deal after pleading guilty to charges of committing a criminal sexual act and official misconduct for sexually abusing the female inmate for several months while on duty at the Riverhead Correctional Facility, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. Middleton could have faced a prison sentence of up to four years on the Criminal Sexual Act charge and up to a year on the official-misconduct rap.“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 appears to have had fewer than five years of service under his belt when he was sentenced, which would make him ineligible for a public pension, so even being allowed to resign didn’t technically affect him in that case.But it’s unclear whether allowing him to resign as opposed to being fired would eventually benefit him somehow.Between June and August of 2023, Middleton, who was tasked with guarding inmates at the jail, used his power as an authoritative figure to threaten and coerce the unidentified inmate into letting the officer sexually abuse her, prosecutors said. Within those two months, Middleton escorted the inmate on multiple occasions into a utility walkway between jail cells that he knew was a blind spot in the jail’s security camera coverage and would order the inmate to perform oral sex on him, according to prosecutors. The crooked cop would even go as far as to threaten to plant contraband in the wo...