An IDOC officer admitted to raping an incarcerated woman. She filed suit and the state settled

Editor’s note: This story contains graphic details.

The state of Idaho reached a settlement on behalf of its prison system after a former correctional officer admitted to sexually abusing an incarcerated woman.

The Idaho Department of Administration’s risk management program told the Idaho Statesman in an email that it paid $62,500 to settle the woman’s claims against Idaho and the state’s prison system. The Department of Administration declined to provide further details or documents, citing an Idaho law that prohibits disclosure of certain records.

The 11-page lawsuit accuses the Idaho Department of Correction and the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center of “grossly” failing to protect the woman from IDOC food service officer Derek Stettler, who was accused of rape and other crimes against the 37-year-old woman in 2021 after he forced her into a bathroom corner at the Pocatello women’s prison and forced her to have “oral sex” on him, the lawsuit says.

In November 2022, Stettler was charged with three counts of sexual contact with an adult inmate and one count of rape, court records show. Before the charges were filed, Stettler admitted in an interview to sexually assaulting the woman, according to Idaho State Police.

“I know all about (the Prison Rape Elimination Act) and all that. I really screwed it up,” Stettler said in an August 2022 interview. “I know there’s no consent, it doesn’t exist, and even if they want it and sign a contract, it’s still a no.”

Under the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), individuals incarcerated in state or county prisons are not allowed to consent to sexual contact, which is why such acts are considered sexual abuse.

Stettler committed suicide in December 2022.

The settlement reached in the spring did not address any of the allegations against Stettler, court documents show, but was settled only with state authorities and a correctional officer who was accused of failing to report the allegations.

After the settlement, the victim’s attorney, Susan Mimura, filed an amended complaint naming only Stettler as the defendant, court records show. However, Mimura failed to serve a copy of the complaint on Stettler’s estate and missed several deadlines set by the court.

Under federal civil procedure rules, judges are required to dismiss a lawsuit if the defendant is not served with a copy within 90 days of the lawsuit being filed.

Mimura did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

“The Court understands that there are many moving parts in litigation, but ignoring the Court is not acceptable,” Chief U.S. District Judge David Nye wrote in an order dismissing all remaining claims against Stettler.