Former West Virginia Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy Against Inmates’ Rights

BECKLEY, W.Va. - Michael Pack, 39, of Beckley, a former corrections officer at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, pleaded guilty on Monday, March 30, 2026, for his role in a conspiracy in which he and other correctional officers would use unreasonable force against inmates, including pretrial detainees, as a form of punishment and retaliation. Pack pleaded guilty to one count of violating 18 U.S.C. § 371.

According to his plea agreement and during the plea hearing, Pack acknowledged that he and his co-conspirators would strike, assault, and harm inmates they believed or perceived to have engaged in misconduct. As part of this conspiracy, Pack and his co-conspirators would bring inmates to "blind spots" - areas of the jail that were not captured on surveillance cameras - so that they could use unreasonable and unjustified force against the inmates without being recorded and thus avoid being held accountable for their actions.

Pack further admitted that, as part of the conspiracy, he and his co-conspirators would prepare false reports denying their unreasonable uses of force against inmates and failing to document injuries that inmates sustained during use of force incidents, so that the conspirators would not be investigated or held accountable for their actions.

Pack is scheduled to be sentenced on July 24, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney Moore Capito for the Southern District of West Virginia made the announcement. The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, Charleston Resident Agency, investigated the case.

United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing. Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and former Trial Attorney Sam Kuhn of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 5:26-cr-30.

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