Federal Prisons & Sex Offenders

If you are charged with a sex-related offense by the U.S. Federal Government, you may be looking at doing your sentence at one of the 130 facilities overseen by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). 

Federal prisons are different than state prison or local county jail. While many of the "rules" of conduct that inmates follow will be the same, there are specific policies and procedures that are unique to the federal system. 

Some clients are surprised to learn that some charges that may begin at the state level, only to be "picked up" by U.S. Department of Justice federal prosecutors, which ends up moving the charges out of the state level and into the federal system. 

This often happens in cases where the charges are possession or distribution of child pornography. 

As a normal rule, BOP won't allow sex offenders a minimum-security (CAMP) locations due to safety factors, however there is a process that you can request to be placed at one of these facilities, and in some cases, approval via a waiver, may be granted. 

There are a few facilities where sex-offender inmates are relatively safe. These include: 

USP Tucson (Tucson, AZ)

USP Coleman II (Coleman, FL)

USP Terre Haute (Terre Haute, IN)

Additionally, there are several facilities that offer sex offender management programs (SOMP). Since these facilities offer specialized treatment, they have additional resources for sex offenders, such as recreation yards.

SOMP Facilities include: 

USP Tucson (Tucson, AZ)

FMC Carswell (Fort Worth, TX)

FMC Devens (Ayer, MA)

FCI Englewood (Littleton, CO)

FCI Marianna (Marianna, FL)

FCI Milan (Milan, MI)

USP Marion (Marion, IL)

FCI Petersburg-Medium (Hopewell, VA)

FCI Elkton (Elkton, OH)

FCI Seagoville (Seagoville, TX)

Most lower-level facilities will have sex offenders. This is because of the classification system. Typically, most sex offenders are 1st-time offenders. Just because a certain facility is classified as "low-security", it doesn't mean that sex offenders won't have potential issues at those facilities. 

It's important to work with an experienced SORNA Prison consultant to understand where you may be incarcerated. This process takes into account (A) your sentence length and (B) points (calculated based on a variety of risk factors). These 2 data points will indicate the type of facility (Low, Medium, High) you will be sent to. 

If you or someone you know has been charged with a Federal or State crime that could  place them on the registry, contact us - we are here to help. 

Our prison consultants work with clients and their families to understand how to prepare for incarceration, as well as re-entry support services (jobs, housing, living on the Registry, etc.).