Correctional Officer In NYC Abuses Inmates Sexually, Sentenced To 3 Years Imprisonment
On Tuesday, he was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment for sexual assault over six years. He was a corrections officer who preyed on female prisoners in a notorious Manhattan federal prison.
Beginning in 2012, Colin Akparanta also raped seven prisoners at the Metropolitan Detention Facility. He claimed to be a reverend who gave divine guidance to victims in some situations. By giving them contraband, he enticed more suspects. After he got out of prison, he continued a relationship with a victim in at least one case.
For years, Akparanta committed a heinous crime……” Abuse of power, an abuse of human beings,’ said Federal Judge Lorna Schofield of Manhattan.
Two cases filed by plaintiffs face the corrupt ex corrections officer.
Akparanta apologized for what happened. He said sorry and also apologized for hurting anyone. He also apologized to his family, who trusted him.
Defense lawyer Nicholas Kaizer uncomfortably argued that the physical interaction of Akparanta with victims was not forceful since the statute does not authorize a prisoner to consent to sex with a correctional officer.
The prosecutor said: “We’re not talking about loving, consensual relationships. We’re talking about abuse. The defendant was a predator.”
Lawsuits brought by whistleblowers accuse that many warning signals about Akparanta, including unjustified lockdowns allowed him access to female prisoners, were missed by workers at the 700-bed facility. He also reportedly escorted prisoners to the women’s showers. But that is the duty of the female correctional officers.
When Jeffrey Epstein hanged himself in prison while awaiting trial for the trafficking of underage children, MCC hit news headlines last year. The jail went into lockdown earlier this year after a loaded pistol smuggling incident took place in the prison. The coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in continued limitations on legal and family visits, accompanied the crisis.
