On Oct. 16, a former Oregon Department of Corrections nurse employed at the state’s sole women’s prison was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting nine inmates during his tenure.
The former nurse at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, 39-year-old Tony Daniel Klein of Clackamas County, Oregon, committed abhorrent acts during his time as a nurse from 2010 to January 2018. Klein exploited his access to the female inmates, engaging in “non-consensual sexual conduct with many female inmates entrusted to his care,” according to court documents.
The disgraced former nurse, who often had unsupervised access to his victims, manipulated situations to isolate them in concealed areas within the facility. The victims were made to believe he held power over them, warning them they would not be believed if they reported his abuse. Many victims submitted to his advances out of fear of reprisal or reporting his conduct within the Oregon Corrections Facility.
“In his position, Klein interacted with female inmates who either sought medical treatment or worked as orderlies in the prison’s medical unit, aided by his access to the women and his position of power as a corrections employee,” stated officials in the court documents.
Following a federal grand jury indictment on March 8, 2022, charging him with multiple civil rights violations, Klein was found guilty by a federal jury in Portland on July 25, 2023. He was convicted of 17 counts of depriving his victims of their constitutional right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by sexual assault, along with four counts of perjury. On Tuesday, he received a 360-month prison sentence and five years of supervised release.
“Today’s sentence sends a clear message that using a position of authority to prey on individuals in custody will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice. Holding Tony Klein accountable for his crimes would not have been possible without the courage and resolve of the women he abused and the dedication of our partners at the FBI and Civil Rights Division,” said Natalie Wight, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
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