WV Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Inmate Abuse Conspiracy

DOJ Civil Rights Press Releases

Filed April 1st, 2026

Detected April 1st, 2026

Summary

The DOJ Civil Rights Division announced that former West Virginia correctional officer Michael Pack pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy against inmates' rights under 18 U.S.C. § 371. Pack admitted to assaulting inmates at Southern Regional Jail with co-conspirators, using 'blind spots' to avoid surveillance, and falsifying incident reports. Sentencing is scheduled for July 24, 2026, with a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

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What changed

Michael Pack, a former corrections officer at Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, pleaded guilty on March 30, 2026, to conspiracy against inmates' rights. According to his plea agreement, Pack and co-conspirators would physically assault inmates they perceived as engaged in misconduct, deliberately targeting areas of the jail without surveillance coverage ('blind spots') to avoid accountability. The conspirators also prepared false reports denying use of force and failing to document inmate injuries.

Correctional facilities should review their surveillance coverage to identify potential blind spots and ensure use-of-force incidents are properly documented. Officers and administrators should be aware that falsifying reports to conceal misconduct constitutes a federal conspiracy offense. The case demonstrates DOJ's continued enforcement of inmates' constitutional rights under color of law.

Penalties

Maximum of five years imprisonment and $250,000 fine under 18 U.S.C. § 371

Source document (simplified)

News

Press Release

West Virginia Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy Against Inmates’ Rights

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Share For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs A former corrections officer at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia pleaded guilty Monday for his role in a conspiracy in which he and other correctional officers would use unreasonable force against inmates, including pretrial detainees, as a form of punishment and retaliation. Michael Pack pleaded guilty to one count of violating 18 U.S.C. § 371.

According to his plea agreement and during the plea hearing, Pack acknowledged that he and his co-conspirators would strike, assault, and harm inmates they believed or perceived to have engaged in misconduct. As part of this conspiracy, Pack and his co-conspirators would bring inmates to “blind spots” – areas of the jail that were not captured on surveillance cameras – so that they could use unreasonable and unjustified force against the inmates without being recorded and thus avoid being held accountable for their actions.

Pack further admitted that, as part of the conspiracy, he and his co-conspirators would prepare false reports denying their unreasonable uses of force against inmates and failing to document injuries that inmates sustained during use of force incidents, so that the conspirators would not be investigated or held accountable for their actions.

Pack pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn. He will be sentenced on July 24. According to his plea agreement, Pack faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and former Trial Attorney Sam Kuhn of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Updated April 1, 2026 Topic Civil Rights Component Civil Rights Division Press Release Number: 26-308