By Forum Staff
Five criminal complaints were unsealed Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn charging current City Administration for Children’s Services employees Da’Vante Bolton, Roger Francis, Christopher Craig and Nigel King, and former ACS employee Octavia Napier, with conspiracy to commit Travel Act bribery.
All five defendants were Youth Development Specialists at the Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brownsville. All five were arrested this morning.
Bolton, 31, and King, 45, are Queens residents; Francis, 58, Craig, 37, and Napier, 26, are from Brooklyn.
Approximately 120 residents, ranging from ages 14 to 20, are detained at Crossroads. Residents at Crossroads are prohibited from possessing narcotics, cellular telephones, cigarettes, weapons, and alcohol, among other items. ACS employees at Crossroads are trained to confiscate any contraband they find and must notify a supervisor if any contraband is discovered. Although staff members are supposed to undergo a security screening whenever they enter the facility, a significant amount of contraband has recently been recovered from Crossroads residents. Between approximately March 2022 and May 2024, at least 75 cell phones and more than 340 scalpels or blades were recovered from the facility, as well as narcotics and tobacco.
The defendants either are or were Youth Development Specialists at Crossroads, which required them to supervise residents. Their responsibilities are similar to those of a correction officer at a jail facility.
Photo Courtesy of DOI
DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber.
As alleged in the complaints, the defendants accepted bribes in exchange for smuggling contraband and violating their duties as staff members.
Bolton has been employed by ACS since March 2020. As alleged, Bolton accepted more than $20,000 from Crossroads residents or their associates and smuggled in razor blades and marijuana in exchange for those bribes.
Roger Francis has been employed by ACS since July 2018. As alleged, Francis received more than $17,000 in bribes from Crossroads residents and their associates for smuggling in contraband, including marijuana and phone accessories.
Craig has been employed by ACS since August 2018. As alleged, Craig received more than $5,000 in bribes to smuggle in contraband, including marijuana and tobacco.
King has been employed by ACS since October 2021. As alleged, King accepted more than $6,800 in bribes for smuggling in marijuana, prescription pills and alcohol.
Napier was employed by ACS from June 2022 to May 2023. As alleged, Napier received more than $2,000 in bribes to both smuggle in contraband and allow a Crossroads resident to use her Cash App account to run his contraband distribution business from within Crossroads.
“As Youth Development Specialists at ACS, these defendants were trusted to ensure the safety and security of residents in the City’s youth detention facilities,” City Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said. “They betrayed that trust when, as charged, they accepted cash payments in exchange for smuggling drugs, weapons, and other contraband, into the Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn, destabilizing the facility and increasing the risk of violence to residents and staff alike.”
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.
