Ex-Coffee Creek state prison nurse charged with sexual assaults of 12 women in custody
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment that accuses a former Oregon Department of Corrections nurse of sexually assaulting a dozen women in custody at the state women’s prison in Wilsonville.
Tony Klein, 37, has been charged with 21 counts of depriving the victims of their constitutional right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by sexually assaulting them at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, The U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Oregon said Monday.
The indictment alleges that in 2016 and 2017 Klein, of Clackamas County, committed various forms of sexual assault, including aggravated sexual abuse and “some resulting in bodily injury,” the Justice Department said.
Klein also faces charges of four counts of perjury related to a federal lawsuit over alleged sexual misconduct while he was a nurse at the facility, the attorney’s office said.
During a court hearing Monday, Klein through his attorney pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
Prosecutors asked for his detention, but Klein was granted pretrial release.
Klein could face life in prison if convicted.
News release from the U.S. Attorney's Office:
Former Oregon Corrections Official Indicted for Sexually Assaulting a Dozen Female Inmates While Serving as a Nurse
PORTLAND, Ore.—A federal indictment was unsealed today charging a former Oregon Department of Corrections employee with sexually assaulting a dozen female inmates while serving as a nurse at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF), Oregon’s only women’s prison.
Tony Daniel Klein, 37, of Clackamas County, Oregon, is charged with 21 counts of depriving the victims of their constitutional right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by sexually assaulting them.
The indictment alleges that from 2016 through 2017, Klein committed various forms of sexual assault, some of which included aggravated sexual abuse and some resulting in bodily injury. Klein is also charged with four counts of perjury for giving false testimony during a 2019 deposition related to a federal lawsuit alleging he committed sexual misconduct while serving as a corrections nurse.
If convicted, Klein faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.
This case is being investigated by the FBI Portland Field Office with assistance from the Oregon State Police and Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Rykken and Hannah Horsley of the District of Oregon, and Special Litigation Counsel Fara Gold and Trial Attorney Cameron A. Bell of the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
