Lawsuit Claims Kentucky Prison Officials Ignored Chaplain’s Sexual Abuse
A complaint filed on June 29, 2023, accused the former chaplain of Kentucky’s Eastern Correctional Complex (ECC), of repeatedly harassing and threatening a state prisoner, as well as subjecting him to abuse and sexual molestation. In addition, the suit alleged, former chaplain Todd S. Boyce, 55, had sexual contact with two other prisoners.
Those prisoners were transferred to another lockup, but no disciplinary action was taken against Boyce, the suit further alleged. The complaint, filed by “John Doe” in federal court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, said the chaplain continued to have private, unsupervised meetings with prisoners in the ECC chapel, currying their favor with contraband he smuggled into the prison. Doe also accused Boyce of threatening him with retaliation by fellow prisoners if he didn’t comply with the chaplain’s sexual demands.
Boyce allegedly had a history of sexually abusing prisoners before assaulting Doe in 2022. When the prisoner suffered a mental breakdown and began cutting himself, his cellmate told Doe that he would report the abuse if Doe didn’t. Once confronted with the allegations, investigators with the state Department of Corrections (DOC) bugged Boyce’s office and recorded incriminating statements he made that confirmed the abuse, the complaint recalled.
Doe alleged that at least one defendant prison official acknowledged during the investigation that he knew about Boyce’s sexual abuse. He also said he was subjected to retaliation by other DOC staffers, at both ECC and Little Sandy Correctional Complex, where he was transferred. Doe is represented by Bowling Green attorney John L. Caudill. See: Doe v. Boyce, USDC (E.D. Ky.), Case No. 0:23-cv-00075.
Boyce was fired in October 2022 and charged with second-degree sexual abuse and third-degree sodomy. He was scheduled for a pretrial conference on January 22, 2024. See: Commonwealth v. Boyce, Ky. Dist. (Morgan Cty.), Case No. 22-cr-00086.
Additional sources: Daily Independent, WDRB
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Related legal case
Doe v. Boyce
| Year | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC (E.D. Ky.), Case No. 0:23-cv-00075 |
| Level | District Court |