By Michele Evans / NYweeklyRecord.com / Date: 8/26/2026
Category: Corrections / Criminal Justice / Sexual Abuse / Government Accountability
NEW YORK CITY, NY –
A former Suffolk County correction officer who admitted sexually assaulting an incarcerated woman while on duty has been sentenced to 18 months behind bars, a punishment that now puts the jail system’s supervision, camera coverage and accountability practices under scrutiny.
Jason Middleton, 37, of Central Islip, pleaded guilty in June to criminal sexual act in the third degree and official misconduct. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney’s office said Middleton abused his authority at the Riverhead Correctional Facility and forced the woman to perform a sex act.
According to prosecutors, the abuse occurred between June and August 2023. Middleton allegedly threatened to plant contraband in the woman’s cell if she did not comply, using the power of his badge and control over her confinement as leverage.
Prosecutors also said Middleton selected a utility walkway between cells because he knew it was a blind spot in the jail’s security-camera system. That allegation raises a larger question for Suffolk County: why did an officer have unsupervised access to an incarcerated woman in a known area without camera coverage?
Middleton was sentenced after pleading guilty, so the core criminal allegations were not merely charges left untested. His plea resolved the prosecution without a trial. The incarcerated woman has not been publicly identified, and this article is withholding details that could expose her identity.
The sentence is substantially below the maximum prison exposure reported for the felony count. Middleton was also allowed to resign from county employment rather than be formally terminated, according to published reports. He must register as a sex offender, with a risk-level proceeding expected later.
Tierney called the conduct an outrageous abuse of power and said correction officers are entrusted with the safety of people in custody. That responsibility is especially acute because incarcerated people cannot choose their custodians, leave the facility or easily escape retaliation.
The case should not end with one officer’s conviction. Suffolk County must explain whether supervisors knew that the walkway was a camera blind spot, how frequently officers entered it with incarcerated women and whether earlier complaints or warning signs were missed.
The county should also disclose what changes were made after Middleton’s arrest. Basic reforms could include eliminating blind spots, requiring auditable entry logs, reviewing officer movement data and creating confidential reporting channels that do not route complaints through the same command structure accused of failing to prevent abuse.
Sexual contact between correction staff and incarcerated people is not an ordinary workplace violation. The power imbalance is built into the institution. Officers control movement, discipline, privileges and access to essential services. Threatening to plant contraband, as prosecutors alleged here, weaponizes that control.
The public still lacks answers about institutional accountability. Middleton has been sentenced. Whether Suffolk County fixes the conditions that allowed the abuse is the next test.
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