Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole Division
Outcome
Steven Powers, former Oklahoma Department of Corrections probation and parole officer, was sentenced in November 2019 to two years in federal prison for depriving two female probationers of their civil rights by subjecting them to repeated sexual assault while they were under his supervision.
Details
Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole — Officer Sexual Assault of Supervisees (2015–2017)
Outcome: Steven Powers, former ODOC probation and parole officer, was sentenced in November 2019 to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of depriving female probationers of their civil rights under color of law.
Steven Powers, 35, worked as a probation and parole officer for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC) and was assigned to supervise individuals on probation in the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area. During his supervision of a first victim from November 2015 through January 2017, Powers engaged in escalating sexually inappropriate behavior that culminated in sexual assault. During his simultaneous supervision of a second victim from November 2015 through April 2017, he engaged in the same pattern of behavior culminating in unwanted sexual contact.
The case was investigated jointly by the ODOC and the FBI, which identified a total of six victims — two fellow coworkers and four probationers — who were subjected to Powers' unwanted sexual advances. Powers pleaded guilty on August 27, 2019 in Tulsa federal court to two misdemeanor counts of depriving probationers of their civil rights while acting under color of law.
In addition to the two-year federal prison sentence, Powers was required to forfeit his Oklahoma law enforcement certification. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jarrod Leaman of the Northern District of Oklahoma and Special Litigation Counsel Fara Gold of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
This case exemplifies the specific PREA-related risk in community corrections settings: officers hold coercive power over supervisees whose continued freedom depends on compliance with officer directions, creating conditions where supervisees are reluctant to report abuse. The multi-year duration before detection and the breadth of victimization (six individuals) underscores the systemic risk when supervision accountability mechanisms are absent.
Primary Source: Former Oklahoma Probation Officer Sentenced for Committing Sexual Assault
How Crucible Prevents This
Powers supervised victims for over a year before a complaint surfaced, and investigators ultimately identified six victims total. Crucible Municipal compliance controls for community supervision agencies include anonymous supervisee complaint channels, mandatory random supervision audits by a different officer, contact-log anomaly detection (e.g., unusual frequency or off-hours contacts), and PREA-required staff certification tracking. Automated detection of supervision contact patterns outside normal parameters would be a first-line control for this category of abuse.
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