Docs: Former guard at Indiana Women’s Prison found guilty of raping inmate

INDIANAPOLIS — A former corrections officer at the Indiana Women’s Prison was found guilty after he raped an inmate in November 2023.

According to court documents in Marion County, 45-year-old Uzochukwu Chinweze was initially charged with one count of rape, a Level 3 felony; sexual misconduct, a Level 5 felony; and sexual misconduct, a Level 6 felony. Chinweze was found guilty on Monday following a one-day court trial.

This comes after Gbenga Afolabi, a former correctional officer at the Indiana Women’s Prison, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after he was found guilty of raping inmates in November 2024.

In January 2024, a detective with the Indiana State Police responded to a reported rape allegation. A 32-year-old inmate told internal investigators that she was sexually assaulted by a guard, later identified as Chinweze.

Court documents provided details on a number of incidents, including one where the inmate was groped by Chinweze in the kitchen area of a unit. In another incident, Chinweze assaulted the inmate in a mop closet in the prison. Chinweze left his position weeks after the incident.

The documents said that investigators were able to find video evidence in the areas where the incidents occurred, including a video where the inmate was seen entering and leaving the mop closet. Chinweze was also seen in the video in the areas at the times.

In an interview with detectives, the inmate said that Chinweze would make comments about her appearance and would take her in the prison’s “blind spot(s)” and would kiss the inmate, despite her giving “loud verbal commands” for him to stop.” The documents said that Chinweze reportedly also had the inmate as the background of his phone.

During the interview, the inmate told detectives that she did not initially come forward with the allegations because she said she was afraid she would be transferred to a different facility.

Detectives then spoke with Chinweze, who said he couldn’t remember being in a closet with the inmate. After being told he was caught on camera, Chinweze stated that “maybe she just had a dream,” stressing he found people in closets “all the time and would ask them to leave, but did not typically enter the closets where they were.”

According to court documents, Chinweze’s sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 15.