Officer Accused Of Sexual Misconduct Back At New Hampshire Department of Corrections

By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org, InDepth NH

Corrections Officer Deborah Steele is returning to work at the Department of Corrections following the summer dismissal of multiple sexual misconduct lawsuits brought by inmates.

Steele’s been on administrative leave since 2024 when several inmates filed lawsuits alleging the DOC ignored their complaints about Steele’s sexual misconduct. In June, those lawsuits were resolved with the state paying $750,000 in total to 11 different women.

The 11 Jane Does were all inmates at the Concord Shea Farm facility, which is set up to prepare women inmates who are close to their release dates to reenter society. That is where Steele served the bulk of her time as a corrections officer.

Records obtained by InDepthNH.org through a Right-to-Know request indicate more than 11 women were at one time involved in the legal cases against the DOC and Steele. The state agreement identifies the women receiving money to settle their claims as Jane Does 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 16, and 19.

Attorney Brittany LeTourneau, who represents all of the Jane Does along with attorney Neil Nicholson, told InDepthNH.org the total number of women who filed lawsuits against Steele and the DOC was 19.

“[Nineteen] Jane Doe cases were filed but only 11 survived the State’s motion to dismiss. I cannot comment on our fees, costs or what each Jane Doe received as a settlement amount,” LeTourneau said.

The New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Academy Council voted Tuesday to restore Steele to her job on the recommendation of DOC Commissioner William Hart, who walked the council through Steele’s recent on-the- job problems.

“This matter began in 2022, it arose from concerns regarding pat searches made by Ms. Steele on female inmates. There were several different organizations involved at varying times, and the Department of Corrections initially did an investigation,” Hart said.

The DOC’s 2022 investigation resulted in a sustained finding of improper searches, Hart said. Steele wasn’t disciplined or removed from her position of authority over the inmates, though Hart told the PSTC that Steele, who started as a corrections officer in 1995, was given training on how to conduct proper pat searches.

One of the Jane Doe’s alleged in her lawsuit that Steele performed numerous body pat searches, sometimes requiring the woman to be naked instead of just wearing underwear and conducted searches between her thighs unlike how other officers conducted the searches, according to court records.

Another Jane Doe said Steele frequently used the palm and front of her hands and would cup the woman’s breasts in her hands and lift up her breasts during searches.

“No other corrections officers at Shea Farm conducted body pat searches of Plaintiff’s upper-mid section using the same method as Officer Steele,” that Jane Doe said in her lawsuit.

A third Jane Doe said Steele conducted a roll call while the woman was showering and required her to fully exit the shower and expose her nude body, according to her lawsuit.

Many of the Jane Doe complaints about Steele go back several years before the 2022 DOC internal investigation. The Jane Does alleged DOC brass suppressed complaints about Steele for years, until one woman was able to file a federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) complaint. That one PREA complaint triggered an FBI investigation and forced the DOC to do something, according to the lawsuits.

Hart acknowledged there was an FBI investigation into Steele that did not result in any charges. The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office was aware of the FBI investigation, and took no action, according to Hart.

When the Jane Doe lawsuits were filed in August of 2024, the DOC placed Steele on administrative leave and opened another internal investigation.

“We did a second investigation, and the matters were not sustained at that time,” Hart said.

Nicholson states in the lawsuits that he began asking for documentation in October of 2023, seeking copies of all Jane Doe inmates’ files including grievances and complaints. He also sought the PREA report concerning the one Jane Doe whose complaint wasn’t ignored.

“On December 20, 2023, undersigned counsel received the inmate’s file, but multiple documents were missing from the file. On the same day, undersigned counsel inquired with the DOC via email about the missing documentation, but they refused to provide any PREA or incident reports involving the inmate,” Nicholson states.

Steele stayed on leave and the lawsuits were sent to mediation earlier this year. The settlements allow the state to continue to deny any misconduct, and they clear the way for Steele’s return. Steele isn’t starting work right away, but will first resolve a medical issue before clocking, according to information presented to the PSTC.

This story was originally published by InDepth NH.