John Paul Ketteman, a 28-year-old former Alabama Department of Corrections officer from Huntsville, has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes while serving as a corrections officer. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Federal Bureau of Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher DiMenna, and United States Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis.
Ketteman was employed at Limestone Correctional Facility in Harvest, Alabama. His responsibilities included inspecting prison cells for contraband and supervising inmates. An investigation began in the fall of 2022 when the Alabama Department of Corrections’ Law Enforcement Services Division suspected contraband was being smuggled into the facility by corrections officers. Cash App records showed that Ketteman received more than $10,000 over less than three months in 2022 for smuggling contraband and acting as a lookout.
Ketteman's sentencing is set for June 24, 2025. The penalty for receiving bribes in this context could be a maximum of 10 years in prison.
The cases were investigated by the FBI and the Secret Service, with assistance provided by ADOC’s Law Enforcement Services Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Hundscheid is leading the prosecution.
