An IDOC officer admitted to raping incarcerated woman. She sued, and state has settled
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Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman
Editor’s note: This story contains graphic details.
BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – The state of Idaho reached a settlement on behalf of its prison system after a former corrections officer admitted to sexually assaulting an incarcerated woman.
The Idaho Department of Administration’s Risk Management Program told the Idaho Statesman in an email that it paid $62,500 to settle the woman’s claims against Idaho and the state’s prison system. The Department of Administration declined to provide any additional details or documents, pointing to an Idaho law that prohibits the disclosure of specific records.
The 11-page lawsuit accused the Idaho Department of Correction and the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center of “grossly” failing to protect the woman from IDOC food service officer Derek Stettler. He was accused of rape and other crimes against the 37-year-old woman in 2021 after he backed her into a bathroom corner at the Pocatello women’s prison and forced her to “perform oral sex” on him, the complaint said.
In November 2022, Stettler was charged with three counts of sexual contact with an adult inmate and one count of rape, court records showed. Prior to being charged, Stettler admitted to sexually assaulting the woman in an interview, according to Idaho State Police.
“I know all about (the Prison Rape Elimination Act) and all that. I really f****d up,” Stettler said in an August 2022 interview. “I know there is no consent, it does not exist, and even if they want it and signed a contract, (it) is still a no.”
Under the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, or PREA, individuals who are incarcerated within state prisons or county jails cannot consent to sexual contact, so any such act is considered sexual abuse.
Stettler killed himself in December 2022.
The settlement, which was reached in the spring, didn’t include any of the claims against Stettler, and was settled only with the state agencies and a corrections officer who was accused of failing to report the allegations, court records showed.
Following the settlement, the victim’s attorney, Susan Mimura, filed an amended complaint naming only Stettler as a defendant, court filings showed. But Mimura failed to serve Stettler’s estate with a copy of the complaint and missed several deadlines set by the court.
Under federal rules for civil cases, if a defendant isn’t served with a copy of the lawsuit within 90 days of its filing, judges are required to dismiss the suit.
Mimura didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
“The court understands there are a lot of moving parts in litigation, but ignoring the court is not acceptable,” Chief U.S. District Judge David Nye wrote in an order dismissing any remaining complaints against Stettler.