Suffolk corrections officer pleads guilty in Riverhead jail sex assault case
A Riverhead jail guard admitted using a camera blind spot to force an inmate into oral sex, a case that now heads to sentencing in August.
A Suffolk County corrections officer admitted using his position at the Riverhead Correctional Facility to force an inmate to perform oral sex, after prosecutors said he steered the victim into a security-camera blind spot and threatened to plant contraband if he disobeyed.
Jason Middleton, 37, of Central Islip, pleaded guilty June 26 to Criminal Sexual Act in the Third Degree, a Class E felony, and Official Misconduct, a Class A misdemeanor. Suffolk County prosecutors said the abuse happened while Middleton was on duty between June 5, 2023, and August 14, 2023, inside the county jail in Riverhead.
The District Attorney’s Office said Middleton escorted the inmate into a utility walkway between jail cells that he knew was outside camera coverage, closed the door and ordered the inmate to perform oral sex. Prosecutors also said Middleton had threatened to plant contraband in the inmate’s cell if the inmate refused him. The case was handled as a public-corruption matter because Middleton used his authority as a corrections officer to exploit someone in custody.
Raymond A. Tierney called the conduct a "profound abuse of authority" and a breach of public trust. Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. said the Sheriff’s Office has "zero tolerance" for such behavior and said the allegations did not reflect the work of the broader corrections staff.
Middleton was arrested by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office Public Corruption Squad on Nov. 24, 2023, and has been suspended without pay since that arrest. He was indicted Oct. 11, 2024, on the same core allegations before reaching the plea. Sentencing is set for Aug. 25, 2026, and prosecutors said he is expected to receive one year and six months in jail and must register as a sex offender.
The case puts a harsh spotlight on security inside the Riverhead facility, one of the jails in the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division alongside the Yaphank Correctional Facility and the Corrections Administrative Bureau. It also lands in the middle of a county corrections workforce represented by the Suffolk County Correction Officers Association, which says it represents more than 850 officers across Suffolk County.
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