Ex-prisoner transporter sentenced to 9 years for raping detainee at rest stop

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — A prisoner transporter has been sentenced to nine years for violating a Washington detainee’s civil rights by raping her at a Missouri rest stop. The U.S. Department of Justice announced 37-year-old Rogeric Hankins’ sentence on Tuesday. The department says Hankins transported inmates who were arrested on out-of-state warrants. Hankins picked up a pretrial detainee from a Washington jail in 2020 to take her to Minnesota. Prosecutors say he stopped at a Missouri rest stop where he raped her. Hankins’ public defenders have not responded to requests for comment.