Atlanta, GA - Former federal prison guard CHRISTOPHER HOLCOMB, 32, of Fairburn, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. on two counts of accepting cash payments in return for smuggling a prohibited item and one count of smuggling a prohibited item, a cellular telephone, into the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary for an inmate.

HOLCOMB was sentenced to six months in federal prison, to be followed by two months of home confinement, and one year of supervised release.

“Strict adherence to the rules prohibiting the introduction of contraband items into federal prisons is necessary for the orderly administration of the prisons and the safety of staff and inmates,” said United States Attorney David E. Nahmias. “This former correctional officer violated those rules for his personal financial gain and thereby endangered his coworkers and the inmates at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. He has lost not only his job, but his liberty as well.”

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: In early 2006, HOLCOMB accepted two cash payments of $600 apiece from an inmate in return for smuggling into the prison a prohibited item and providing that item, a cellular telephone, to the prison inmate. A cellular telephone is a prohibited item because it is a communications device that, in the hands of an inmate, threatens the order, discipline, and security of a prison.

HOLCOMB was indicted in June 2006. He pleaded guilty on October 10, 2006.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Scott Morrell prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact David E. Nahmias (pronounced NAH-me-us), United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney's Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.