Prison transport officer who raped female prisoner at Love's Travel Stop in Joplin pleads guilty

A private prison transport officer who pleaded guilty to violating a prisoner's civil rights when he raped her in a men's room at Love's Travel Stop in Joplin, is free on a personal recognizance bond.

The federal indictment against Rogeric Hankins, 37, was unsealed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri followed by Hankins' guilty plea.

The crime was detailed in the plea agreement, which was also filed today.

On March 31, 2020, the defendant and another transfer officer picked up J. S. a female pretrial detainee from the Thurston County Jail in Olympia, Washington to transport her back to Ramsey County Jail in St. Paul, Minnesota on a warrant for drug-related offenses.

The transport officers drove the transport van through several states before reaching Minnesota, during which time the transport officers picked up and dropped off several male inmates until J. S. was the only passenger in the van.

During the early morning hours of April 3, 2020, the transport officers parked the transport van at a rest stop near Joplin, Missouri.

The defendant took J. S. inside the rest stop so that she could use the bathroom while the other transport officer remained asleep inside the van.

After J. S. used the women's bathroom, the defendant led J. S. into the men's bathroom, telling her to go to the furthest stall away from the door. J. S. complied and the defendant followed her into the stall. There was no one else in the men's bathroom.

The defendant then began to try to pull J. S.'s shirt up. J. S. was scared and tried to hold her shirt down., while telling the defendant to stop. 

At that point, Hankins forced her to perform oral sex, then bent her over and raped her from behind. 

No date has been scheduled for sentencing. The maximum sentence Hankins can receive is 10 years.