By Michael Buettner
The Progress - Index
RICHMOND, Va. — A 28-year Army veteran was sentenced to four years of probation Thursday after he pleaded guilty to helping a federal inmate meet up with prostitutes while on work-release at Fort Lee.
Donald E. Grayson, 49, pleaded guilty in September to one count of assisting the escape of a person committed to custody. He was sentenced on Thursday during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Richmond.
Grayson was indicted last July on two counts of helping prisoners escape and two counts of aiding and abetting prisoners in the possession of contraband. The three other counts were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea.
According to court documents, Grayson worked for a contractor who was responsible for maintaining a firing range at Fort Lee. Grayson was responsible for supervising inmates of the Federal Correctional Institute-Petersburg low-security facility who participated in a work-release program at Fort Lee.
“Beginning in October 2009, and continuing until April 2010, Grayson knowingly allowed prisoners to possess contraband, including mobile phones and unauthorized foods,” according to prosecutors.
“Grayson also played the role of a banker for the prisoners, receiving and holding money from family members and associates of the prisoners and on some occasions giving the prisoners money, which for prisoners is also contraband.”
In a “statement of facts” acknowledging his guilt, Grayson admitted to providing a prisoner named Christopher Towns with a Virgin Mobile cell phone that Towns used “to search Craigslist.com and contact prostitutes for the purpose of arranging sexual encounters.”
When Towns had arranged a meeting with a prostitute, “Grayson would secure a room for Towns at a local hotel; Grayson would provide keys to the room to Towns, the female companion or both; on at least one occasion Grayson drove Towns to the hotel; on the other occasions, the female companion picked Towns up directly from the work site; and Towns would obtain cash from Grayson from his ‘account’ as needed to pay for the hotel. After the sexual encounters Towns would return to the Fort Lee work detail.”
In the original indictment, Grayson was accused of performing similar services for another inmate.
A federal magistrate initially had recommended a stiffer sentence for Grayson, but prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Richmond urged U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne to impose the four-year probation because of mitigating factors. Among those factors, they noted, Grayson retired as a staff sergeant from the Army after 28 years of active duty during which he received a number of military decorations.
The sentence includes six months of house arrest, during which the probation officer assigned to Grayson can ask the court to order electronic monitoring if he or she believes it’s needed.
Also as part of the plea agreement, Grayson promised to cooperate with the government and “will provide more detailed facts relating to this case during ensuing debriefings.”
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