Stew Milne/AP
In January, Hatch, 45, was found guilty in a Providence, R.I. court of failing to pay taxes on his $1 million Survivor winnings and other income. Considered a flight risk because he owns property in Canada, he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs and taken into custody in a Plymouth, Mass., jail.
Hatch asked to be put in protective custody shortly after he was detained, his attorney, Michael Minns, said Monday. Charles Wyant, a supervisory deputy U.S. marshal, said 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 of recreation, Wyant said. Then they are usually moved into the general population.
Hatch's charges carry a maximum of 13 years in prison.
