WESTOVER, Md. - A former Eastern Correctional Institution supervisor convicted of helping cover up a 2021 inmate assault has been sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison.
On Tuesday, June 2, U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox sentenced former ECI sergeant and unit supervisor Jermaine Sturgis to 33 months in prison after a federal jury found him guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements. The sentence also includes one year of supervised release following his prison term.
According to court records, Sturgis was convicted for his role in concealing an assault carried out by another correctional officer at the Somerset County prison in 2021 and for lying to investigators during the ensuing state and federal investigations.
According to prosecutors, correctional officer Samuel Warren assaulted an inmate identified in court documents only as K.K. on July 12, 2021. Prosecutors said Warren repeatedly punched the handcuffed inmate during a retaliatory strip search, causing visible facial injuries.
As WBOC previously reported, investigators alleged several officers later conspired to delete video evidence showing the inmate's injuries and then lied to investigators about what happened.
During Sturgis' trial, prosecutors argued that after viewing the video, Sturgis told other officers the footage "looked bad" and should be deleted because it would hurt Warren. Multiple former officers testified that they agreed to destroy the recording and falsely claim the camera malfunctioned.
Federal prosecutors said Sturgis repeatedly lied to state investigators, FBI agents, and a federal grand jury about his knowledge of both the assault and the missing video. Court filings also alleged that Sturgis continued those falsehoods during his trial testimony.
A jury convicted Sturgis in December 2025 of conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements but acquitted him of charges related to destruction of records and witness tampering. Prosecutors had requested a sentence of 51 months in prison, arguing that Sturgis played a leadership role in the cover-up and continued to obstruct justice throughout the investigation and trial.
Court records filed on Tuesday show Judge Maddox instead imposed a sentence of 33 months, with the prison terms on both counts running concurrently.
The judgment also prohibits Sturgis from working in a position that would require him to supervise incarcerated individuals without prior approval from a probation officer.
Several former ECI officers have faced federal charges in connection with the assault and cover-up investigation. Warren previously pleaded guilty to charges related to the unlawful use of force, while former correctional officer David Quillen pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice and destroying records after admitting he deleted the video evidence.
Former officer Neil Daubach also pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the incident and was previously sentenced to one year and one day in prison, according to court records.
