WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- Internal auditors have found the Justice Department often declines to prosecute prison guards and officials who have sex with convicts.
Although it is illegal for federal prison employees to engage even in consensual sex with prisoners, agency inspectors said in a report released Monday that during a five-year period ended in September, fewer than half of the 163 substantiated cases resulted in federal criminal cases.
The main reason cited is the fact that while illegal, the criminal violation is treated as a misdemeanor -- with a maximum sentence of a year in prison -- unless forced or coerced in some way.
However, the report calls for a strengthening of punishments, citing the fact that when prosecuted, the punishment for such behavior is often inadequate to fit the crime and, in some, cases the law does not cover abuses.
For instance, federal laws do not apply to sexual abuse of convicts held in federal prisons run by private contractors.
