PROVIDENCE, R.I. --"Survivor"
winner Richard Hatch is being held in protective custody apart
from other inmates until his sentencing this month on tax
evasion charges.
Hatch, who won $1 million in the debut
season of the CBS reality TV series, was found guilty in
January of failing to pay taxes on his winnings and other
income. He was taken into custody immediately because U.S.
District Court Judge Ernest Torres said he posed a flight
risk.
Hatch, 45, asked to be put in protective
custody shortly after he was detained, his attorney, Michael
Minns, said Monday. Hatch is being held at a jail in Plymouth,
Mass., until his sentencing April 25.
Charles Wyant, a supervisory deputy U.S.
marshal, said the reality TV star was placed in protective
custody because he is a celebrity. Any prisoner can make such
a request.
"The situation he's in is the best
possible position for him to be in at this point in time, the
safest and most secure," Wyant said.
As a matter of policy, all prisoners spend
their first three days at the jail in solitary confinement
with one hour a day recreation, Wyant said. After that, they
are usually moved into the general population, but Hatch is
being held separately, he said.
Minns said Hatch's conditions have improved
since he first arrived in jail, except for what he called the
abysmally bad food.
"I'd just hate for someone to think
these are pleasant conditions," he said.
The charges carry a maximum of 13 years in
prison. Torres said he expected a sentence of between two
years, nine months and three years, five months but it could
be longer because prosecutors accuse Hatch of lying during his
testimony.
