A federal grand jury in Little Rock, Arkansas, returned a two-count indictment against Eric Scott Kindley, 49, a former prison transport officer, for crimes related to his sexual assault of a woman in his custody, and using his firearm in furtherance of the assault.

Count One of the indictment charges Kindley with committing civil rights offenses that resulted in bodily injury and includes the use of a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, and aggravated sexual abuse. Count Two charges Kindley with knowingly possessing a firearm in furtherance of these crimes of violence.

Kindley was indicted on June 29, 2017, in Phoenix, Arizona, for committing similar offenses related to sexual assaults he committed on a different woman in his custody, and as in this indictment, possessing his firearm in furtherance of those assaults.

These indictments stem from Kindley's arrest in Stockton, California, on June 1, 2017, in connection with a criminal complaint filed in the District of Arizona. According to arrest paperwork, Kindley operated Group 6, LLC doing business as Special Operations Group, a company that local jails throughout the country hire to transport individuals who have been arrested on out-of-state warrants. The probable cause affidavit associated with the criminal complaint alleged that from January through May of this year, Kindley engaged in sexual misconduct in his Dodge Caravan with three different female prisoners during three different transports. The transports were from California to Arizona, Alabama to Arizona, and Mississippi to New Mexico. In each instance, the victim was handcuffed and restrained, and taken to secluded locations where Kindley sexually assaulted her. All the while, Kindley threatened each victim with his firearm and warned her that he will get away with his conduct because no one will believe her.

Following Kindley's arrest in the Eastern District of California, the court ordered that Kindley be detained and transported to the District of Arizona, where he remains in custody.

This investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call the Phoenix Division of the FBI at (623) 466-1999, or can email the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice at [email protected].

Kindley faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted of the crimes charged, and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison for possession of the firearm in this indictment. If he is convicted of possession of a firearm in both indictments, he faces a mandatory minimum of twenty-five years in prison.

An indictment is merely a formal accusation of criminal conduct, and Kindley is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Phoenix Division of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Fara Gold and Trial Attorney Maura White of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Component(s): Civil Rights DivisionCivil Rights – Criminal Section

Press Release Number: 17-1000Updated September 13, 2017