MIAMI, Florida — Today, following a 14-day trial, a federal jury found former Florida Department of Corrections Officer Terrance Reynolds, 30, guilty of conspiring to assault youthful offender inmates, announced Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Eric S. Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Division.  The jury acquitted Reynolds of two counts of depriving the youthful offender inmates of their civil rights.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on March 27, 2017, Reynolds and former Sergeant Brendan Butler, 30, conspired to physically assault and intimidate youthful offender inmates for being disruptive and disrespectful earlier that morning. Reynolds and Butler instructed three of the inmates to exit their housing unit and took them into a mop closet. Once inside the mop closet, Reynolds and Butler assaulted one of the inmates with a stick, causing him bodily injury, while the other two inmates stood nearby. The following day, Reynolds and Butler assaulted one of the other inmates to punish him for being disrespectful.  Inmates may be classified as youthful offenders by a court or the Department of Corrections, and are generally twenty-four years old or younger. Butler previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the inmates’ civil rights.    

“In the Southern District of Florida, abuse by corrections officers will not be tolerated. If you are an officer who violates the civil rights of those entrusted to your protection, know this: My Office will prosecute you,” said Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

“Corrections officers who use unjustified force against inmates in their custody violate the Constitution,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously investigating and prosecuting officers who break the public trust in this way.” 

“Former corrections officer Terrance Reynolds was found guilty of conspiring to assault youthful offender inmates.  Such conduct violates the public’s trust in our institutions and officials,” said George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami.   “I commend the professionalism and hard work of the Florida Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General and the FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force with this investigation.”

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan and Acting Assistant Attorney General Gore also commended the investigative efforts of the FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the Florida Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Senior and Brian Dobbins, of the Southern District of Florida, and Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov

The Justice Department today announced that a federal grand jury in Miami indicted Florida Department of Corrections officer, Terrance Reynolds, 28, for conspiring with former sergeant Brendan Butler to physically assault and intimidate youthful offenders for conduct perceived by the officers as disruptive or disrespectful. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, and Lester Fernandez, Inspector General - Florida Department of Correction (FDC).

According to the indictment, on March 27, 2017, Reynolds and Butler instructed three inmates to exit their housing unit and took them into a mop closet. Each of these inmates had been classified as youthful offenders requiring that they be separated from the general population for their own protection. Once inside the mop closet, it is alleged that Reynolds and Butler assaulted one of the inmates with a stick and their fists, causing him bodily injury, while the other two inmates stood nearby. The indictment states that the following day, Reynolds and Butler assaulted one of the other inmates to punish him for talking about the previous day’s assault and for being disrespectful. Both of these assaults caused bodily injury to the victims. Reynolds is also charged with making false statements to the FBI about his whereabouts on the dates of the assaults.

Inmates are classified as youthful offenders by a court or the Department of Corrections if they meet certain criteria and are 24 years old or younger.  

Brendan Butler pleaded guilty on May 18 to conspiracy to commit civil rights violations. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison on Aug. 23. Reynolds faces five counts in the indictment with a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the FDC’s Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Senior of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Samantha Trepel of the Civil Rights Division.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.