In what’s become a trend in these current times due to CORONA, another sex abuse offender is asking for release due to COVID-19. One of the former Louisville Metro Police officers convicted of federal and state crimes in the department’s youth Explorer sex scandal, Brandon Wood, has asked this week for a “compassionate release” from prison because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wood, was sentenced in May in U.S. District Court to a short 70 months in prison for attempted enticement of a teen in the youth mentoring program, according to a motion filed by his attorney, asked a federal judge Monday for early release citing “extraordinary and compelling reasons,”.
Wood is serving his time in a prison In Ohio and claims the prison is experiencing a corona virus outbreak which is affecting both officers and inmates.
In the Federal Correctional Institution in Elkton, Ohio, three inmates have died from COVID-19 complications and dozens more have COVID-19 symptoms, according to press reports. The governor is sending the Ohio National Guard in to help the federal prison.
Wood is claiming that he is especially susceptible because he has asthma, “This condition makes him particularly vulnerable to serious or deadly consequences if infected,” according to the motion.
Attorney General William Barr specifically mentioned the Elkton prison to the Bureau of Prisons on Friday to increase the use of home detention because of the “dire conditions at the facility.”
U.S. District Court Judge David Hale ruled that the motion is “premature” and he could not make a ruling until the warden has responded.
If he were to be released, Wood could serve the remainder of his sentence at home incarceration with family in Louisville.
According to court records, Wood admitted to trying to entice a juvenile under 18 to engage in sexual activity, between 2011 and 2012.
