Per reports, the prison guard, later identified as 28-year-old Brandon, was reportedly instructed to transport a female inmate to the emergency room at a local hospital. Prosecutors said that the female inmate was suffering from elevated blood pressure that didn’t respond to in-house treatments and continued to climb. The defendant alone drove the female inmate to the Regional Medical Center, where he remained with her for five hours after his shift ended. During the time he was with her, he continued to make se-ually-charged comments while mentioning his connections with the state Department of Corrections employee, who is in charge of parole decisions, in an attempt to bribe the inmate.

“Though his shift was near its end, he volunteered to transport the inmate to the hospital,” the lawsuit states. “He transported the inmate alone, in violation of Jail policy and industry standards and practices.” Once the inmate’s blood pressure had been successfully treated, she was discharged into the custody of Brandon. However, instead of driving her back to the jail, he pulled off onto a secluded road and climbed into the back of the van to the shackled woman. “On the way back to the jail, he stopped the van,” the lawsuit states. “He turned around and told the inmate if she performed oraI se* on him, he would talk to the KDOC employee he knew about getting her released from jail earlier.”

Brandon se-ually assaulted the bound woman. He later returned her to the jail, where she reported the abuse. Initially, he denied the allegation. However, as details weren’t adding up, he eventually admitted to engaging in se-ual contact with the inmate. When he was interviewed about the incident, he denied the allegation of having the inmate perform oraI se* on him, but he allegedly said he made a stupid mistake … I let a female inmate touch me inappropriately, authorities reported. The female inmate soon filed a lawsuit against FCRJ personnel, which named Brandon. The 28-year-old man was then charged with third-degree so-omy, which, but the charge was later reduced to second-degree se-ual assault. After his conviction, Judge Wingate was expected to give Brandon a lengthy prison sentence.

However, instead of throwing the book at him, the judge offered him his choice of punishment: either go to jail for 12 months or enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces. “If you don’t enroll in 30 days, you can report to the County Regional Jail,” Wingate stated. “You are under the gun, young man. You gotta do it.” Judge Wingate’s decision has drawn criticism for not only allowing an abuser in a position of authority and power to have a choice in his punishment but presenting military service as an acceptable substitute for prison. In fact, he even admitted that he was doing Price a favor by offering for him to dodge jail time. “You’re getting a huge break,” Wingate said during his sentencing. “You made a terrible mistake, which I know personally cost the county money.”