Former Oregon Prison Nurse Accused Of Sexually Assaulting A Dozen Female Inmates

A former Oregon nurse who worked at the state's only women's prison has been indicted for sexually assaulting a dozen inmates.

Tony Daniel Klein, 37, of Clackamas County, Ore., faces federal charges on 21 counts of "depriving the victims of their constitutional right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by sexually assaulting them,"  the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon announced in a press release on Monday.

He's pleaded not guilty in the case.

Klein worked as a nurse at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility from 2016 to 2017 and during that time, officials allege that he victimized at least a dozen women. 

The press release alleges that “Klein committed various forms of sexual assault, some of which included aggravated sexual abuse and some resulting in bodily injury.” 

In all, at least 27 women have accused Klein of sexual assault and sexual misconduct at the prison, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported last month.

Klein has also been charged with four counts of perjury for allegedly giving false testimony during a 2019 deposition, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. That deposition was related to a federal civl lawsuit in which Klein was also accused of sexual misconduct while serving as a corrections nurse. That year, Oregon’s Statesman Journal reported that sexual abuse at the prison was common and allegedly ignored by prison staff. The lawsuit alleged that any inmate who reported such abuse were punished. Ten women sued Klein and the state of Oregon. A $1.7 million settlement ended the lawsuit in 2020 and neither the state or Klein admitted wrong doing, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.

An investigation by Oregon State Police at the time, noted that 11 inmates reported sexual abuse or contact with Klein but that prosecutors had declined to charge him, saying that some of the accounts were unreliable, according to the Statesman Journal.

Klein is currently on leave from his job as a registered nurse for Legacy Health, who hired him after he resigned from the prison in 2018, The Oregonian reports.

“I’m glad he got indicted. I’m pretty sure he’s going to prison,” civil rights attorney Michelle Burrows, who represented the women in the 2019 lawsuit, told Oregon Public Broadcasting this week. 

Klein faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. His trial is set for May 16.