A man serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to a first-degree murder charge found more trouble behind bars after attempting to send a vial of his seminal fluid to someone outside of the prison.

Derick LeCompte, an inmate at South Woods State Prison, appealed disciplinary actions he received as a result of a package he attempted to send last year. The package included a "sock altered in the shape of a sex toy," a "sexually explicit letter," and a "clear vial containing a liquid," according to a decision from a two-judge appeals panel.

According to state court records, LeCompte is a Toms River resident who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2000 and will not be eligible for parole for at least 30 years.

LeCompte explained in his letter that the vial contained "a small sealed bag of my ejaculation that I did for you." There was no information provided as to whom the package was addressed to.

After the items were discovered, LeCompte was charged with throwing bodily fluid at a person or otherwise subjecting such person to contact with a bodily fluid, and unauthorized use of mail or telephone. He was sentenced to 300 days of administrative segregation, 300 days loss of commutation time and 30 days loss of recreation privileges for the bodily fluid charge. He was also sentenced to 60 days loss of commutation time for the mail offense, which ran concurrent to the other sentence.

LeCompte appealed the punishment, arguing among other things that the hearing officer had violated his due process rights, that the evidence provided for the bodily fluid charge did not fit the incident, and that there was a "lack of leniency" that proved the state was malicious in its sentence.

"We consider these points to be so lacking in merit as to not warrant much discussion in a written opinion," the appellate panel said in its decision this month.

The judges said that it was "inconsequential that the fluid was discovered before any harm occurred," and that the Department of Correction's mail system was "not designed for inmates to forward either bodily fluids or objects of a sexual nature."

"Reasonable minds would agree that Lecompte's sexually explicit letter is substantial credible evidence establishing both offenses," the decision says.

More From New Jersey 101.5

 

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM