Former federal prison officer gets one year prison in Terre Haute case

Oct. 31—A former Federal Bureau of Prisons correctional officer has been sentenced to prison for accepting bribes from inmates.

Shauna N. Boatright, 36, of Fisher, Illinois, was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison after pleading guilty to accepting a bribe as a public official, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana said Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Boatright was employed with the BOP as a correctional treatment specialist at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute.

In late 2021, Boatright was assigned to monitor an inmate in the facility's residential drug abuse Program. Boatright told the inmate that she was in financial distress and asked him how she could make some money.

The government said Boatright agreed to take bribes to smuggle tobacco into the prison for the inmate. Inmates are prohibited from possessing tobacco in federal prisons. Boatright later took bribes to smuggle tobacco into the prison for a second inmate.

After the inmates received the contraband, they directed associates outside the prison to transfer money to Boatright.

Between Sept. 30 and October 27, 2021, Boatright received five payments totaling $9,800, the government said.

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers said, "The vast majority of corrections officers serve with honesty and integrity, and those who instead choose to break the law themselves must be held accountable."

The FBI and the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Warden prosecuted. Sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge James P. Hanlon.