PORT ANGELES — Clallam County Superior Court Judge Lauren Erickson signed a court order Wednesday correcting the criminal history of John Russell Gray, a former state corrections officer sentenced Tuesday to 20 months in prison for sexually assaulting four Forks jail inmates in 2019.
Erickson’s order declared information was incorrect that was contained in a presentence report for Gray, 52.
The state Department of Corrections had erroneously said in its report that Gray had five driving-under-the-influence convictions.
The DUIs were for John M. Gray, whose birth date was different by two days from John R. Gray, Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin said Wednesday.
They were included on the same criminal history report the agency compiled for John R. Gray’s sentencing.
As part of her order, Erickson corrected John R. Gray’s criminal history to accurately reflect one conviction in 1989 for hit and run of an unattended vehicle.
She said his criminal history did not have an impact on the sentence she imposed Tuesday.
Gray pleaded guilty to two counts of felony first-degree custodial sexual misconduct and two counts of gross misdemeanor second-degree custodial sexual misconduct for assaulting the four women from June 13, 2019 to Oct. 3, 2019.
Gray was fired from his job at the Forks jail in November 2019 and from the Clallam Bay Corrections Center in January.
The DOC transported Gray, a Forks resident and a 23-year corrections officer, from the Clallam County jail to the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton on Wednesday for processing before he is transferred to a prison, DOC spokeswoman Susan Biller said Thursday.
“The intake process takes a couple of weeks to best plan for someone’s success while incarcerated,” she said.
“Within the first 24 hours, we do not know the eventual location or custody level of a person as all plans are uniquely built to best meet the needs of each incarcerated individual.”
Chief Clallam County Jail Correction Deputy Wendy Peterson said Gray, who had avoided incarceration since July 24 while on $50,000 bail, spent Tuesday night at the jail before DOC picked him up by 7 a.m. Wednesday.
Disciplinary action against Gray while a CBCC corrections officer included being suspended without pay for 15 days July 16, 2018, after he displayed “inappropriate, disrespectful, and unprofessional behaviors toward offenders,” including making an inmate stand for search three consecutive times before shoving him, according to the notice of disciplinary action.
“It would not be surprising to me if he ended up in protective custody, not comingling with the general population,” Peterson said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
