There’s a bad apple in every bunch…

…and at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF), that bad apple sure appears to be Sergeant Paul Vick Jr. Sergeant Vick has been charged with 15 felonies in connection with alleged sexual contact with three women inmates. Sergeant Vick was suspended with pay in August after the first allegations surfaced, and late last week Vick was suspended without pay after he was arrested.

According to the criminal complaint, Vick is alleged to have had sexual contact with at least three female inmates from 2006 to 2008, and he is also alleged to have provided those female inmates with contraband including candy, cigarettes, and marijuana.

Among the charges leveled against Sergeant Vick:

• Five counts of second degree sexual assault of an inmate by a correctional officer
• Four counts of delivery of illegal articles to an inmate
• One count of second degree sexual assault by use of threat of force or violence
• Five counts of misconduct in public office

If convicted of all the charges, Vick faces more than 271 years in prison and fines of almost $700,000.

To be honest, these charges against Paul Vick could be just the tip of the iceberg. There may very well be more female inmates with whom Vick has had inappropriate contact or to whom he has delivered contraband, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see more allegations leveled against him now that his story has hit the news. However, no matter whether more allegations become known or not, Paul Vick certainly deserves a lengthy prison sentence if convicted, because it’s bad apples like him that give a bad name to all the hardworking corrections officers who do a great job on a daily basis keeping our correctional facilities running smoothly and safely.