David John Pederson, 55, an inmate at the Federal Prison Camp at Marion, Illinois, appeared today for arraignment in United States District Court in Benton on charges that he escaped from the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, announced Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. Pederson was charged by a Federal Grand Jury on May 9th with leaving the extended limits of his confinement while on an unescorted transfer from FPC-Marion to a half-way house in Council Bluff, Iowa. This conduct, under Federal law, is deemed an escape. The indictment alleged that the offense occurred on March 26, 2013, in Jefferson County.
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
At the time of the escape, Pederson was serving a 71 month sentence from the Southern District of Iowa for bank robbery. If convicted of the escape offense, Pederson faces up to an additional 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release to follow his incarceration.
Following his arraignment, Pederson was ordered held without bond and was returned to the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, where he is serving a 20 year sentence for aggravated vehicular hijacking, to await further proceedings.
The case was investigated by the United States Marshal’s Service with the assistance of the Mt. Vernon Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
