| MCC Staff Akparanta Pled To
Sex Abuse Of Prisoners Now Wants Sentencing
Delay to Sept
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive,
video
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
June 5 – When Colin Akparanta
was brought in shackles,
accused of sexually abusing
female prisoners under his
control in the Metropolitan
Correctional Center prison,
into the U.S.
District Court
for the
Southern
District of
New York's Magistrates Court
on May 21, his wife
had been
waiting for
him for hours.
Inner City
Press was
there and has
followed the
case since, since
this exclusive
report.
On
February 21
the US
Attorney's Office wrote
to SDNY District
Judge Lorna G.
Schofield
about a plea deal. And now
on March 4
Akparanta
has formally
pled
guilty,
getting a deal
of 37 to 46
months and
undefined
restitution to
seven victims.
But he was
allowed to
plead guilty
regarding
only one of
the seven
victims. The
other six will
get
undefined
restitution.
Some may still
be in the MCC,
where inmates
had
been left for
six days and
counting
without
showers or hot
food or even
lawyer visits.
Now as
a public service Inner
City Press
reports the
sentencing
date is
requested to
be moved from
July to September,
even amid
mounting
concern about
law
enforcement
abuse:
"Re: USA v.
Colin
Akparanta, 19
Cr. 363 (LGS)
Dear Judge
Schofield: We
represent
Colin
Akparanta, who
is scheduled
to be
sentenced July
2, 2020. Our
sentencing
memorandum is
due to be
filed on or
before June 8.
Mr. Akparanta
is released on
a secured bond
and residing
with his
family in New
Jersey. Due to
the current
pandemic and
the need for
us effectively
represent Mr.
Akparanta, we
respectfully
request an
adjournment of
sentence and
sentencing
submissions.
We suggest a
sentencing
date in mid
September. The
government
does not
object to this
request." Inner
City Press
will stay on
the case.
Back on
May 21 the
government
argued for a
curfew, saying
that Akparanta
is a
naturalized
U.S. citizen
originally
from Nigeria
to which he
retains strong
ties.
He didn't try
to flee when
first
questioned -
but it seems
he thought he
was under
investigation
only for bringing
contraband
into the MCC
for female
prisoners, not for the sex
acts he traded
the contraband
and control
for.
The
unsealed
indictment in
USA v. Akparanta
lists as his nicknames
or aliases "Africa"
and "Akon." (A
commenter on
Inner
City Press' thread about
the
arraignment
noted that the
singer Akon is
not, in fact,
from Nigeria -
but neither is
Africa a
country.)
***
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