PHILADELPHIA — A former Federal Detention Center Philadelphia correctional officer has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for sexually abusing an inmate under his authority and violating her civil rights, federal prosecutors said.
Michael Jefferson, 43, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was sentenced May 18 to 360 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Jefferson was indicted in May 2025 and pleaded guilty in December to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a ward and deprivation of rights under color of law.
According to court filings and statements, Jefferson was working as a correctional officer at FDC Philadelphia in the early morning hours of July 6, 2024, when he entered an inmate’s cell and forcibly sexually assaulted her. Prosecutors said the assault caused bodily injury.
Federal prosecutors said Jefferson, while acting under color of law, willfully deprived the inmate of her constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, including sexual abuse by a correctional officer.
The case was investigated by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Claiborne Bisio prosecuted the case.
