By Stephen Betts
Bangor Daily News
AUGUSTA, Maine — The state’s pursuit of a misdemeanor indecent conduct charge against a prisoner already serving a 40-year sentence is part of a renewed effort to crack down on sexual misconduct within the prison system.
Scott Fish, director of special projects for the Maine Department of Corrections, said the state agency has a zero tolerance policy for sexual misconduct.
Fish made his comment in response to questions about a criminal charge being filed against prisoner Kerry Gray, 50, who pleaded guilty Monday in Knox County Superior Court to one count of indecent conduct for exposing himself to another prisoner. A jury pool had been called in Monday for jurors to be selected for his case and one other nonrelated case. But after Gray pleaded guilty, the judge sentenced him to serve an additional 21 days.
Gray was convicted in 2005 of gross sexual assault, attempted murder and arson in the attack on his 76-year-old female neighbor. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the offenses, which occurred in Livermore Falls.
The indecent conduct charge stems from an incident at the prison on Oct. 10.
Ryan Andersen, senior planner for the department of corrections and the agency’s compliance officer for the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, said that for years, prisoners have been shown a film when they arrive that discusses sexual harassment and misconduct. Within the past two years, the film has been narrated in English, Spanish, Somali and in sign language.
The law was enacted in 2003, but regulations that were implemented in 2012 made it clearer what was required of prisons to comply, he said.
Among other steps taken in Maine to comply with the law are that all prisoners are screened to determine whether they are predatory or vulnerable to sexual misconduct. That information is used to make housing assignments, Andersen said.
The prison policy prohibits sexual contact and harassment among prisoners and declares it as sexual misconduct.
“In summary, the Department of Corrections has a zero tolerance policy for sexual misconduct. Accordingly, all allegations of sexual misconduct or sexual threats will be thoroughly investigated. Any victim of sexual misconduct will be treated in a sensitive manner with due consideration to the effects of sexual misconduct. Furthermore, any perpetrator of a sexual misconduct incident will be dealt with severely through discipline and/or prosecution to the fullest extent permitted by law,” the policy states.
Andersen said he only has been in his position for less than three months, but other staffers have told him there has been a significant decline in sexual misconduct cases at the prison.