A former state prison officer has pleaded guilty on a federal bribery charge.

John Paul Ketteman, 28, of Huntsville, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke to receipt of a bribe by an agent or organization receiving federal funds, according to a joint statement Thursday by Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Chris DiMenna and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis.

According to the plea agreement, Ketteman was employed as a corrections officer at the Alabama Department of Correction’s Limestone Correctional Facility in Harvest.

Ketteman’s job duties included inspecting prison cells for contraband and supervising inmates. He was hired by ADOC on June 8, 2012, and resigned Nov. 22. 2022.

He was among four prison officers indicted on state charges in 2022. One of them, Alex Christian Andrews, has also been indicted federally, court records show.

In the fall of 2022, ADOC’s Law Enforcement Services Division began an investigation into contraband being smuggled into the Limestone Facility by corrections officers.

As part of the investigation, Cash App records were obtained for Ketteman’s account.

The records showed that in less than three months in 2022, Ketteman was paid more than $10,000 to smuggle contraband into the Limestone Facility and to act as a lookout.

Ketteman, according to court documents, also warned an inmate about upcoming inspections.

Ketteman is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24.

The maximum penalty for receipt of a bribe by an agent or organization receiving federal funds is 10 years in prison.

The FBI and the United States Secret Service investigated the cases. ADOC’s Law Enforcement Services Division provided valuable assistance during the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Hundscheid is prosecuting the case.