PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A former nurse with the Oregon Department of Corrections received a 30-year prison sentence on Tuesday for sexually assaulting nine female inmates.
Tony Klein, 39, was found guilty in July on 17 counts of depriving his victims of their constitutional right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by sexual assault and four counts of perjury.
“Today’s sentence sends a clear message that using a position of authority to prey on individuals in custody will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice. Holding Tony Klein accountable for his crimes would not have been possible without the courage and resolve of the women he abused and the dedication of our partners at the FBI and Civil Rights Division,” said Natalie Wight, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Court documents say that Klein served as a nurse from 2010 to 2018 at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, Oregon’s only women’s prison.
“In his position, Klein interacted with female inmates who either sought medical treatment or worked as orderlies in the prison’s medical unit. Aided by his access to the women and his position of power as a corrections employee, Klein sexually assaulted and engaged in nonconsensual sexual conduct with many female inmates entrusted to his care,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “By virtue of his position as a medical provider, Klein was often alone with his victims and assaulted many before, during, or after medical treatment. For women who worked in the medical unit, Klein manufactured reasons to get them alone in secluded areas such as medical rooms, janitor’s closets, or behind privacy curtains.”
