FORMER ARKANSAS POLICE OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced that a former Carlisle, Arkansas Police Department officer pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of two men in his custody.

Alvin Jeremy Hampton was arrested on June 10, 2004, following a sting operation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In federal court today, Hampton admitted to using his power as a police officer to coerce individuals in his custody into performing sexual acts. On two occasions he arrested individuals for minor infractions and threatened them with incarceration if they refused his sexual demands. One assault took place at Hampton’s apartment and another in his office at the Carlisle Police Department. Hampton had been an officer with the Carlisle Police Department from March 2002 until his termination in June 2004.

The hearing was held before Judge Susan Webber Wright, of the Eastern District of Arkansas. The charges to which Hampton pleaded guilty carry a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $500,000 fine.

The FBI investigated the case with the cooperation of the Carlisle Police Department. The case was jointly prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Arkansas.

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