A Department of Defense contractor was sentenced to four years' probation and six months' home confinement Thursday for allowing trysts between prostitutes and federal inmates he was supervising at Fort Lee.
Donald E. Grayson, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of assisting escape and was facing eight to 14 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne imposed a lesser sentence as sought by the government and Grayson's lawyers.
"I made a mistake, sir. I used bad judgment," Grayson told Payne shortly before he was sentenced.
Payne imposed a lower sentence, citing, among other things, Grayson's service record — he is retired from the Army and has seven good-conduct medals.
Grayson was charged in a four-count indictment in July alleging he assisted in escapes and aided and abetted possession of contraband by an inmate. Under the terms of an agreement, he pleaded guilty in September to assisting escape.
According to court documents, Grayson maintained a firing range at Fort Lee where he supervised a team of inmates on a work-release program. The inmates were shuttled daily between the Petersburg Federal Correctional Center and Fort Lee.
"On numerous occasions Grayson allowed prisoners to escape from the confines of Fort Lee to nearby hotels, where the prisoners had sex with female companions they arranged to meet using their contraband cellphones," the U.S. Attorney's Office wrote.
Prosecutors said that "in all instances the prisoners returned to Fort lee on the same day without incident and without having their absence noticed by (prison) personnel picking them up to return to prison."
"No doubt he was motivated at least in part by a misguided sympathy for the prisoners he was in charge of supervising," the government said. "Clearly, however, these activities represent a breakdown in prisoner discipline and a potential risk to the community at large that is unacceptable."
One of the inmates was Christopher Towns, who was serving a sentence for a Maryland drug conviction and who told investigators that Grayson allowed him and other inmates to possess prepaid cellphones, prohibited food items and money while on work detail.
From October 2009 until April 2010, Towns, while at Fort Lee, used his cellphone with Internet access to search Craiglist to contact prostitutes.
At least four times, Towns had friends and associates wire Grayson money to establish an account. Using cash from the account, Grayson would get a room for Towns at a local hotel and give the room keys to Towns, his female companion or both.
On at least one occasion, Grayson drove Towns to the hotel, and another time the female companion picked Towns up from his work site.
"After the sexual encounters Towns would return to the Fort Lee work detail. Towns and Grayson knew full well that Towns' repeated excursions to area hotels for the purpose of having sex with prostitutes were unauthorized," says a statement of facts signed by Grayson.
Towns pleaded guilty to possession of contraband and was sentenced to 12 months' probation.
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