Former Corrections Officers Sentenced on Civil Rights Charges

The Kentucky RCFL (KYRCFL) provided digital forensics expertise to authorities investigating civil rights allegations at the Fayette County Detention Center in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Kentucky RCFL (KRCFL) provided digital forensics expertise to authorities investigating civil rights allegations at the Fayette County Detention Center (FCDC) in Lexington, Kentucky. In September 2006, a federal search warrant was executed at the FCDC, for alleged civil rights violations. In November 2006, KRCFL Examiners responded to a service request from the FBI's Lexington Division to analyze media seized during the execution of that warrant, as well as additional media seized during the investigation. Two years later, a grand jury returned an eight-count indictment against current and former corrections officers for assaulting inmates without justification at the intake unit of the jail, and attempting to cover up their conduct by filing false reports and charges against the inmates.

On June 3, 2010, two of the former officers, Scott Tyree, and Anthony Estep, 35, were sentenced in federal court for their roles in the systematic abuse of detainees at FCDC. Federal Judge Karen K. Caldwell sentenced Tyree to serve 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release, and Estep to serve 12 months and one day in prison and one year of supervised release. Two other defendants, John McQueen, 33, and Clarence McCoy, 31, were convicted by a federal jury on May 13, 2010, for related charges, and a third person, Kristine Lafoe, 44, pleaded guilty on May 14, 2009 and received 12 months in prison plus two years of supervised release. Click here to read the FBI's full press release.

KRCFL Examiners assigned to the laboratory from the following participating agencies supported the investigation: FBI—Louisville Division; Kentucky Bureau of Investigation; Kentucky State Police; Louisville Metro Police Department, and the University of Louisville.