Judge tells corrections officer charged with sex assault to join the military or go to jail

A judge’s ruling for a man convicted of sexual assault has harkened back to an older time- do your time in jail or in military uniform.

Kentucky Judge Thomas Wingate issued the order to former corrections officer Brandon Scott Price in for second-degree sexual assault in 2019, carried out against a female prisoner under his care.

“If you don’t enroll in 30 days, you can report to the Franklin County Regional Jail,” Wingate said. “You are under the gun, young man. You gotta do it.”

The 2019 incident took place after Price was checking the prisoner’s blood pressure and discovered it was elevated, prompting him to take the woman to the emergency room.

According to Task & Purpose, Price violated jail policy and took the female inmate without a female guard present.

On the way to the hospital, Price claimed he could sway parole board decisions, made sexually-charged comments and told the inmate that if she performed oral sex on him, he would see about getting her released early.

Price admitted that his decisions amounted to “a stupid mistake” but denied any wrongdoing.

“You’re getting a huge break,” Wingate during the sentencing. “You made a terrible mistake, which I know personally cost the county money.”

Given that price was a uniformed officer at the time, it is unknown how the judge concluded that military service would provide much improvement.

The practice of “go to the Army or go to jail” was quite popular in the 1970s and 1980s after the introduction of the all-volunteer Army, and has been frequently attributed to a rise in organized crime and drug abuse that plagued the Army in those decades.

However, the judge’s ruling depends entirely on the ability -or desire- for US Army recruiters to allow Price to serve- something which may not happen if it is found Price does not meet enlistment standards.

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