PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Former Federal Bureau of Prisons lieutenant Ryan O. Elliott was sentenced Thursday to one year and one day in prison and one year of supervised release for assaulting one inmate and writing a false report about the assault of a second inmate.
Elliott, 47, of East Point, pleaded guilty in November 2023 to deprivation of rights under color of law and falsification of records.
Two other former corrections officers at U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy in Debord – Samuel Patrick, 41, of West Van Lear, and Clinton Pauley, 42, of Ironton, Ohio – previously pleaded guilty to related offenses and were sentenced to 36 and 40 months, respectively. Another prison official, former Lieutenant Kevin Pearce, 39, of Inez, was convicted of related offenses after a six-day trial and was sentenced to 66 months.
According to court documents and evidence at Pearce’s trial in March 2023, Elliott joined Pauley and other officers in assaulting one inmate and, in a separate incident, wrote false reports about the assault of another inmate.
During the first incident, March 26, 2021, Elliott was present when an inmate was taken to a room with no cameras following a non-violent violation of prison rules. When another officer began to assault the inmate, Elliott assisted by tackling the inmate to the ground and punching him in the body. Elliott continued to assault the inmate, and Pauley joined.
The second incident occurred April 30, 2021, when Elliott was asked by Pearce to help cover up an assault against another inmate whom Pauley and Patrick had beaten. Elliott, who had not been present for that assault, agreed to help Pearce cover up the assault by writing a false report claiming that he had been there and had seen no assault.
“Supervisors should lead by example — not abuse their authority by using excessive force against inmates entrusted to their care and by helping colleagues conceal misconduct,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves imposed the sentence.