An IDOC officer admitted to raping incarcerated woman. She sued, and state has settled

Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman

Editor’s note: This communicative contains schematic details.

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – The authorities of Idaho reached a colony connected behalf of its situation strategy aft a erstwhile corrections serviceman admitted to sexually assaulting an incarcerated woman.

The Idaho Department of Administration’s Risk Management Program told nan Idaho Statesman successful an email that it paid $62,500 to settee nan woman’s claims against Idaho and nan state’s situation system. The Department of Administration declined to supply immoderate further specifications aliases documents, pointing to an Idaho rule that prohibits nan disclosure of circumstantial records.

The 11-page suit accused nan Idaho Department of Correction and nan Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center of “grossly” failing to protect nan female from IDOC nutrient work serviceman Derek Stettler. He was accused of rape and different crimes against nan 37-year-old female successful 2021 aft he backed her into a bath area astatine nan Pocatello women’s situation and forced her to “perform oral sex” connected him, nan title said.

In November 2022, Stettler was charged pinch 3 counts of intersexual interaction pinch an big inmate and 1 count of rape, tribunal records showed. Prior to being charged, Stettler admitted to sexually assaulting the female successful an interview, according to Idaho State Police.

“I cognize each astir (the Prison Rape Elimination Act) and each that. I really f****d up,” Stettler said successful an August 2022 interview. “I cognize location is nary consent, it does not exist, and moreover if they want it and signed a contract, (it) is still a no.”

Under nan national Prison Rape Elimination Act, aliases PREA, individuals who are incarcerated wrong authorities prisons aliases region jails cannot consent to intersexual contact, truthful immoderate specified enactment is considered intersexual abuse.

Stettler killed himself successful December 2022.

The settlement, which was reached successful nan spring, didn’t see immoderate of nan claims against Stettler, and was settled only pinch nan authorities agencies and a corrections serviceman who was accused of failing to study nan allegations, tribunal records showed.

Following nan settlement, nan victim’s attorney, Susan Mimura, revenge an amended title naming only Stettler arsenic a defendant, tribunal filings showed. But Mimura grounded to service Stettler’s property pinch a transcript of nan title and missed respective deadlines group by nan court.

Under federal rules for civilian cases, if a suspect isn’t served pinch a transcript of nan suit wrong 90 days of its filing, judges are required to disregard nan suit.

Mimura didn’t instantly respond to an email seeking comment.

“The tribunal understands location are a batch of moving parts successful litigation, but ignoring nan tribunal is not acceptable,” Chief U.S. District Judge David Nye wrote successful an order dismissing immoderate remaining complaints against Stettler.