UPDATE: Correction officer accused of raping inmate free on bail

Accused of RAPE and set free on $1500?!!!
What?!!!!

Obviously, more to the story. I see rape and then sexual relations. He's not going anywhere and neither is she.

The low bail is a clear indication that the judge suspects the allegations are false and won't let them ruin a good man's life.

there is alot of scary things that go on behind those walls when it comes to the staff.

People in positions of power should be held accountable for their actions. On a global scale perhaps we did not learn this lesson from the Abu Ghraib scandal. Rape happens too often within the confines of our own country in our prisons and jails. I do not know if there is a corelation between privately run prisons and state run prisons.
It would be hard to believe that there is such thing as consentual sex between inmate and guard. Was this woman condemned to be the sex slave of this guard? Is that within the spirit of our sentencing guidlines? Should any guards or inmates be powerful enought to be using sex in the penal system?
Rape in prison is a serious issue reguardless as to whether it is guard on inmate or inmate on inmate male on male or what have you and should not be tolerated. This should not be the derivatve of incarceration.
We should expect more of people in a civilized society.

Can a person say yes and later say No?

Not surprised at all...he'll probably be found not guilty....

Prison rape is very wrong. If a person in jail feels it is the only way to survive he or she might perform sexual acts to guards or other inmates to avert the threat of violence. Guards and other prisoners should not be able to rape others within the prison or jail system.

No more to it. He raped her, and because people in positions of authority tend not to have to answer for their actions the same way an average person would, that's why he still has his job. This will probably be swept under the carpet and the offending "officer" will probably just be transferred.

It's pretty sad that a cashier with no real responsibility can get fired immediately for taking a single candy bar from their job, yet someone empowered with public trust, gets to try to work things out internally. Take Wilkerson for example. A total disgrace and hack, yet she had to be asked to resign.

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACCUSED OF THINGS THEY DID NOT DO AND HAVE A HIGHER BAIL THAN THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN NOT UNDERSTAND WHO MAKES UP THE AMOUNT OF BAIL!!!!!!!! FOR STEALING SOMETHING YOUR BAIL CAN BE SET AT $5,000 AND IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE SOMETHING THAT BIG. SOME PEOPLE NEED TO LOOK OVER THE COURT SYSTEM AND CHANGE THE LAWS ON BAIL IN CASES LIKE THIS DO YOU THINK IT IS TIME?????????????

This kind of thing happens more than what the public hears about. It usally gets taken care of internaly and a deal of some sorts is worked out with the victim ie, prisoner for early release for her silence and corperation in the matter .I have worked for the Bristol County Sherrif Office for twenty seven years and it has happened to many times to count and it is standard procedure to keep it in house no matter how wrong it might be....

Do you think Chuck Turner will come to his defense if the media hounds this guy?

There is no such thing as consensual sex between an inmate and a prison employee, any sexual relation is considered rape. $1500 bail is very common or this type of case. Low bail is not any indication of a judges belief of guilt or innocence, only flight risk and other extenuating circumstances.

Bail was set so low because rape has never been a high priority for the courts. And if she's an inmate, regardless of her crimes, she's not going to be looked at with much sympathy. It could be that she could've said no, then yes, because he is in a position of power and from what I've heard CO's basically run your life while you're in there and if you anger the wrong one for any reason, you can be in more trouble than before. I had a friend who was falsely jailed for short amount at of time (MCI Framingham I believe) due to trusting the wrong person to be a roommate and even though everyone now knows she was innocent and she was released, she's still trying to deal with the effects of being in there. There are things she experienced and saw that she won't tell a soul, and I swear it's out of fear for reasons I don't know, but she won't talk about what happened to her in there.

Chalk up another good deed by our judicial system. Not only by the guard but the Judge to. He should have his head looked at. I am actually surprised this is the first time I have ever heard of a CO raping someone I guess when your behind the walls nothing comes over. They sweep it under the rug like most cases involving COPS, Lawyers, CO's and any other public figure. Hey JOEDOGS where you at with this one? Time for inside crime to stop and only the taxpayers can make a difference. THIS NEEDS TO STOP. Hey what is happening with the CO that stole guns from the jail and/or used his FID card to purchase high powered weapons to sell to friends. I bet he is still working and going to be found not guilty. TIME TO SET EXAMPLES SO OTHERS DONT FOLLOW. Do Judges live on other planets?

It looks as though there's only room for comments that reflect INFJ and socially acceptable sentiments on news stories like these

There should be no question of yes and no between inmate and guard in terms of sex.

I suspect the CONVICTED FELON is lying. Call me nuts, but maybe she hates her prison guard. I suspect she is lying. Why is everyone so quick to make this guilty? Maybe the crazy women who landed in prison is lying!

"no more to it"?! How about "innocent until proven guilty." Interesting everyone is passing judgement when all you know is what you read in 3 small paragraphs. Who knows what the motives are of the inmates? They are not the most credible people. Let the system decide!

To attempt to make Abu Ghraib and some kid busted for pot morally equivalent is pretty lame. They have few similarities other than the bars.

Sex slaves, Abu Ghraib, you folks have no idea of what a modern prison facility is now in days. There are few facilities with the iron bars on the cell doors as in alcatraz, etc. These folks play cards, watch television, sleep, eat, everything that you would do on vacation. There is no punishment for false allegations, battery on officers, or other situations that these fine citizens create while in custody, If the allegations are true then let the Law play out and issue it's sanctions. However do not forget that a jury of your peers found these people guilty, or do want the home invader, pimp, prositute, etc. over for Thanksgiving

This Officer is a great man and I know for a fact that he is not guilty, these inmates think that they have a right to accuse good people and get away with it all they say in prison is ill get you good and the law will protect me, so ones in a while why dont you listen to the officer instead of the inmate .........good friend

Hey Jeff D.
I have an idea. You don't want to be raped? Don't put yourself in a position that you will be put in jail. Sounds easy to me.

OMG another person with power taking advantage of the system he is sworn to protect. Better yet the Judge lets him off with a 1500 bail. Come on folks whos in whos pocket. Please can some judge do us all a favor and make examples of officers and people in power who break the law. Hopefully others wont follow. This man watches over rapist, and murderers but he acts as one of them. Rape is worst then murder because that person has to live with it FOREVER. Judges please comeback to this planet and start doing your job and stop using a bias as to why you give the bail and punishment you hand down.

JD - Why is it that this guy is "acused" of a crime but a CONVICTED criminal and you (as judge and jury) have already found him guilty? The person that is acusing him of the charge had a trial and ended up behind bars doesn't this defendant deserve the same right before you convict him without knowing any of the facts? Why do you think this guy isn't just an "average guy" that goes to work in a jail every day? Because he works with scum do you automatically think the same of him? If I follow your thought process then every nurse that hands out pain meds "tend" to take then themselves...

There is no such thing as “consensual sex” in jail! It is against Federal and State law. There will be no “sweeping it under the rug (too many cameras and witnesses) On the other hand, people who make false claims sometimes go unpunished to make more false claims! The truth will come out! It always does in the end!

woa, you people are making A LOT of assumptions. Remember, innocent until proven guilty. Man, I sound like some lawyer from some stupid movie.

Let him have his day in court!
People are innocent until proven guilty.
Have some respect for his Family; and let the court system work this out.

Hey, JD--how about we have a trial and stuff first, before we condemn the guy. Just for laughs.

just another criminal with a badge. there are a lot of them out there.

i bet he IS innocent !!!!!!!!!!!

HAVE WE FORGOTTEN INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY?!

Bail is solely to secure his appearance in court - a person with family is often not seen as a flight risk - bail is not supposed to be set at a level based purely on how bad the alleged crime is.

Let it go through the system, all these half cocked opinions are irresponsible.

Innocent until proven guilty...

Oh, let's see..."swept under the rug"...."not answer for their actions"….

A lieutenant in the Sheriff’s department, who is married with three kids and has had an "impeccable record'' since being hired on Sept. 18, 1991 has, upon the word of an inmate (a convicted criminal) been charged with a very serious felony and placed on “administrative leave without pay” by his employer, who opined, to the public, that the actions were "egregious''.

The story ran in the local paper and his picture and name were prominently displayed. Know-nothings rant and rave, a). with no knowledge whatsoever that he ‘did it” “he raped her" b). to fire him c). to take his pension, etc..

How about due process? How about waiting till he’s found guilty? How about giving a man you never met and know nothing about, someone who’s spent nearly 20 years in his profession with not o much as a blemish, a little bit of credit or the benefit of the doubt, for now at least? No, too much to ask of YOU people, because you all know so very much. More reactionary puke from the masses.

If he is found guilty I hope he rots in prison. If he’s not guilty, he’s lost and suffered a lot more than most and will continue to suffer…which none of you have the sense to acknowledge. Not everyone who works for you is a hack. Not everyone is corrupt. Not everyone is on the take. Not everyone is a slacker. Not everyone is scum. Do any of you know the accuser? No, but you blindly attack the man (mainly because you think he is part of law enforcement…he’s not, he’s in corrections). I know a guy who was accused of assault and battery for taking a woman out of her house when she did not want to go...while the house was on fire. Do you have any idea how easy it is to make allegations? Do you not understand that due the media attention and the public’s perception departments would rather shoot first and ask questions later?

Do I think the sheriff’s department and BPD did their job? Of course, is it likely he did ‘something”? Probably…maybe…who knows? Has he been convicted of anything at all? No. Will he be? I don’t know and neither do any of you. Stop acting like you are all so knowledgeable about things you know nothing about. Did you see video, like with Turner? That’s a bit different, isn’t it?

So, what exactly has been swept under the rug? Who is or is not paying a price? Even before conviction?

At the risk of sounding unamerican >id like to say that all should be considered innocent until proven guilty even prison guards .

Three days after Tommy boy goes to court his buddy Edward Engel Jr. goes to court for sodemy, and indangering a child. These people are the role models,protectors, and inforcers. Thomas didn't want to pay the 50 bucks to get a prostitute. He's feeling the crunch too in these harsh economic times. Hell how much does he get paid ?, $26.00 an hour maybe. The guys up in Walpole would love to get a piece of him. He'll never see the inside of a jail cell thou. His " BROTHERs" have his back, that is unless he's back to work when this blows over.. I'm so glad are taxes go to people like this.

I know him personally, no way is this true.

Gee, isn't this why Ms Cabral became sheriff to "change the culture" of prison life? some reformer! Perhaps she should try coming to work and going INSIDE the prison instead of sitting in front of the camera on her BCNN Thursday television show. Another political fraud...........

This would not be the first time a corrections officer has been accused of such
a crime, just to find out later that it was a false accusation. As a former C.O. I have witnessed several of these accusations leveled against former colleagues which were later proved false. If he did it, prosecute to the full extent of the law, as he breached a bond of ethics and trust. I would hope that if he is proven innocent, he receives just as much publicity as he has for the accusation. Others proven innocent in the past have just gotten as small retraction buried 30 or so pages in.

Figure it out.. Bail is set low because most likely this man is INNOCENT!! I am a woman... and I realize people don't always tell the truth and people in jail are desperate. Don't be so quick to assume he's guilty!! Just becuase an inmate said something happened, doesn't mean it was true. Wait until you hear all the facts before you assume. Maybe she hates this guys (hello she is in jail). Maybe she figures, she has noting to lose. WHO KNOWS!
JUST DON'T ASSUME HE'S GUILTY BECUASE "SHE SAID SO". It would be very sad for his wife and children to go through all this and then in the end, you find out he was innocent..

Karen

I know this guy from way back and he is definately not guilty of raping someone. This story sounds fishy.

There is absolutely no way the inmate is telling the truth. He is a good man and great father. Bail is set low because the inmate is lying. I know him and he is not capable of this crime...innocent until proven guilty.

True. The man is innocent until he is proven guilty. No one will dispute that. It should not have been too hard to prove if there was legitimate situation for us to discuss.
No one should be subject to this abuse of power in our systems reguardless if she or he broke the law in the past.

I know in my heart that Tom is not guilty. He is a respectable, hard working husband and dad. I have known him for years and truly believe that he is being set up by some inmate that has nothing to lose and wants to get out of jail. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? The media has ruined Tom and his family's life by splashing this all over the place. I hope that when Tom is found innocent you'll put his face on the front page with INNOCENT in capital letters. I support Tom Healey 100%.

My husband is a CO @ South Bay. I have heard stories, not many because he leaves his work at work. In the stories I have heard from him, the "guests" take full advantage of their free time and come up with different ways to get what they want. "I don't like my cell mate so I won't shower for a month", etc. I am not saying either way that this Lt. is guilty or innocent, however it does seem suspect to me that someone who has been on the job for almost 20 years would go into a cell and assault and rape an inmate, full knowing that there are cameras all over the place. I do know that Cabral's moto is "My way or the highway". I'm sure she was instrumental in getting "evidence" to the prosecutor and sure didn't waste anytime releasing a statement that all but said Healy was guilty. There is more to this story and I suggest that everyone hold off on their assumption of guilt until both sides are heard. Not everyone in law enforecement is guilty. Not every CO is a hack. Most are hardworking indivuduals who have a thankless, dangerous job, go in everyday - put up with threats and violence, then come home to their families. As far as the bail is concerned, I think that a judge has, as he should, weighed the preliminary information on the charges and sets bail accordingly. This is a man with a family and a home and clean record of 17 years on the job. This is not a vagrant with no permanent address who has been arrested and has a much higher chance of flight.

Love how so many of you fools are anxious to conclude that this man is guilty.
I guess I can understand it, after all, convicted criminals are famous for telling the truth.

Innocent until proven guilty....give the guy and his family a chance...Wow, are we ready to jump at anything or what??????

i've known this man and his family since i was 6 years old. i have always held him as an example of what to be and how to live your life. he will be found innocent and when he does, i call on all his detractors in these comments to have the courage that he has always had to post comments in support of his innocence.

How do you know that the woman who accused him is not a mentally deranged woman with a history of falsely accusing men of sex crimes.

If this guy is found guilty, it goes without saying what is going to happen to him in the slammer.

If you think that the law has him on leave without pay and without evidence.
This Sheriff would just be pumping up a lawsuit.
They have DNA or a good witness or both.
This guard is going to see what it's like on the inside for the law.
This woman can be a bubble off and he is still guilty. Consent has nothing to do with this.
Consent with her is ,it is alright to commit a crime.

OK, Tom Healey has an impeccable record for his entire professional career as a CO . He has three beautiful children, and a loving wife and family.
What do we know about this "prison skank" and her so called "character"?

Based on Mr Healey's integrity and work history, why would he jeopardize his good name and reputation for this? I think the question is , what would the convicted criminal have to gain? Attention? Early Release? The satisfaction of damaging an innocent man's life? There are a lot of sick & bitter convicted criminals that make there life in prison a mission to continue to take away from someonelse...... Wake up you bunch of ignorant people ready to try, convict, and hang a man who has not had his day in court yet.

Question: How many of you out there would make the daily sacrifice of being locked up yourself with these animals, without a weapon for protection, and deal with the constant barrage of threats, foul remarks? I don't see anyone lining up?

It seems to me the only one getting damaged here is Tom in the meantime while he waits for this matter to be addressed in the court system while
the "prison skank" stilll gets assuredly 3 squares a day, gym, schooling, a degree, health benefits, television......... on and on........

Somebody is sleeping well tonight behind those prison walls.

HE IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY!!!!!!

Bottom line- just wait to see what happens. What is the evidence? Accused deserves to defend himself and it seems to me that no one is giving him that opportunity. Even the title of all of the articles says "ACCUSED" - that does not mean he's convicted. Are we so quick to believe that an inmate is innocent? what do we really know here? Why are so many people so quick to believe that a man who has worked so hard for so many years in a job that most people would never want is automatically guilty when the accuser happens to be an already convicted criminal? Why not give him his day in court?!!!

I know Tom to be honest good man. I have been out with him when other people have been drinking and carousing. Tom never took part in any of that. He has always been a straight arrow and a good husband and father. I don't believe any of these accusations. I predict this is a vendetta agaianst an officer who had the audacity to enforce the rules.

I worked with him for years and he was always a professional, a true gentleman. There is no way I believe this to be true, and it is awful that he is being tried in the media, having his picture posted. Anybody that knows him would never believe this to be true. God bless him and his family!!

Hey anyone know if there is any DNA evidence?

This is a sad indication of our justice system and the media. Tom is a good person, and would not be capable of a crime against any person. Of course when allegations are made, they must be investigated, but is there a reason to drag his name through the mud? I would highly question the accuser, and what she thinks she will gain from bringing these charges. I have known Tom and his family for many years. He is a proud father and a good husband. I feel for he and his family in this rough time, and I am sure that he will cleared of all charges.

Soon we will find if he did or not, I think he is for a lot of trouble. I feel for his family, but if he did it he should go to prison!!

It's time for him to own up, to what he did. He is taking down a lot of good guards, who go to work every day tring to do the right thing. Even though the sheriff of this department, has no real understanding of how the life of a guard is behind those walls. Just remember she is the one who promoted this person to the rank of sarguent then to lieutenant, so the buck should stop there. There is no excuse for what this person did, but the sheriff should have to be held accountable as well. It's time for her and her HACKS to go!

I wonder if this guy is back at work, I have'nt heard anything in thee press? I'm sure he will beat the charges, if nothing has be posted since the last one then the fix is in! I read that he is innocent till proven guilty, how about her, it seams that you have convected her. This guy is in a leadership position, she is in a cell.

She is running for Sheriff again. I'll bet you won't hear anything about this guy, because he is a big fund raiser for her. And as soon as the election is over, if see wins he will be back on the job. The fix is in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!