Ex-Coventry fire chief files lawsuit against prison staff after he’s repeatedly attacked

8-26-16 Connecticut:

The ex-Coventry volunteer fire chief who’s serving a 10-year sentence for having a sexual relationship with a teenaged junior firefighter has filed a lawsuit accusing the staff at the Bridgeport Correctional Center of acting with “deliberate indifference” when they did nothing as another detainee regularly assaulted him.

Joseph Carilli, 56, filed the lawsuit in New Britain Superior Court in February against 14 employees of the state Department of Correction.

In his two-page handwritten complaint, Carilli wrote that in January and February of 2014 when he was held in pretrial detention at the Bridgeport Correctional Center unable to post bond in the sexual assault case another detainee regularly assaulted him.

In the lawsuit, Carilli is seeking monetary relief in the form of $100,000 from each defendant, the retraining of the defendants “to prevent repeated assaults from occurring,” and a written apology from them.

At the time the lawsuit was filed Carilli had already served 19 months of his 10-year sentence and was incarcerated at the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown. He has since been transferred to the Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers, and it was there that the Journal Inquirer met with him about his lawsuit.

On a recent afternoon Carilli was led by a correctional officer into the visitors’ room at Osborn to meet with a reporter. He was dressed in a beige-colored prison uniform with a white T-shirt underneath, the ensemble seeming a little loose fitting but still holding a bit to his husky frame.

His complaint against certain staff at the Bridgeport Correctional Center is that while he was supposed to be in protective custody while in pretrial detention another detainee assaulted him multiple times in early 2014.

Prison stories: Former inmate Michael Humphreys did extra time after assaulting 'pedophile' in jail

6-26-2014 Michigan:

JACKSON, MI – To coincide with the opening of the new Cell Block 7 Prison Museum at the State Prison of Southern Michigan in Blackman Township, the Citizen Patriot interviewed several people who spent time at the facility when it was fully functional.

They included former corrections officer Don Brown, nurse Kathy Johns and former inmate Michael Humphreys, all of Jackson.

Here are their stories:

The inmate

By his own account, 33-year-old Michael Humphreys "became a man" while in prison.

At age 18, the Pontiac native was sentenced to serve six months at the Hillsdale County Jail on fraudulent check charges. Humphreys' idea of what prison life was supposed to be like led to a much longer stint, however.

NY suspect accused of killing mom, raping girl beaten in jail

3-16-2013 New York:

Authorities say a man accused of killing a Syracuse woman and raping her 10-year-old daughter during a carjacking was beaten and suffered a broken nose on his first day in jail.

The Post-Standard, of Syracuse, reports that David Renz had a swollen face and tissues stuffed up both nostrils when he appeared in federal court Friday to face a probation violation charge.

His attorneys say Renz was assaulted by other inmates at the Onondaga County Justice Center, where he was taken following his arrest Thursday night.

Sheriff Kevin Walsh told the newspaper he was looking into why Renz was put into a holding area with other prisoners.

Renz faces charges that he abducted the mother and daughter as they left a gymnastics class in the Syracuse suburb of Clay.

Vicious, feared attack leaves Pa. inmate comatose

8-29-2010 Pennsylvania:

SCRANTON, Pa. – If his diary and witness accounts are to be believed, Nicholas Pinto endured months of physical, sexual and mental abuse in prison. Guards roughed him up, made him stand naked in a cold cell for hours at a time, and taunted him relentlessly. A fellow inmate raped him night after night, beat him when he resisted, and stole his possessions.

And no one, he claimed, did a thing about it.

"The overall treatment I have received from both the prison and (the prison's) medical providers (is) unconstitutional, insufficient, cruel, inhumane and shamefully unacceptable," Pinto wrote in April.

He feared for his life, yet the officials responsible for his safety appear to have ignored his pleas for help — nor did they heed a warning from the prison chaplain that Pinto was in grave danger.

An accused child pornographer, he was at the bottom of the prison hierarchy. So what came next was perhaps inevitable.

The 29-year-old former Connecticut man was heading back to his cell block from a recreation area when he was ambushed by an inmate with a history of violence who was supposed to be locked down — but wasn't. The inmate knocked him to the floor and stomped on his head at least 15 times "with all his might," according to a police report. Pinto's face was shattered, and he suffered brain injuries that left him comatose.

After the attack, his assailant had enough time to return to his cell and use a rag to wipe evidence from his black sneakers, police said.

Prisoner punches accused child molester

8-9-2010 Massachusetts:

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI) - A prisoner, already facing burglary charges, is now charged with assault and battery after he attacked a suspected child molester during a hearing inside New Bedford District Court.

William E. Reed, 43, of New Bedford was in court Thursday to face burglary charges when he punched John Messieri, 24, in the face, said Gregg Miliote, spokesman for the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.

Messieri is accused of sexually assaulting his girlfriend's 7-year-old daughter in Fairhaven. He was hearing the charges against him when the assault happened.

Court officers then jumped in to separate the prisoners, Miliote said.

The judge revoked Reed's bail from a prior burglary case. He will spend the next 60 days in prison. After that, Reed will held on $5,000 for the assault charge.

As for Messieri, Fairhaven police arrested him last week, after the mother of his alleged victim told investigators she saw her boyfriend molesting her daughter.

She told police she asked Messieri to tuck the girl into bed and then walked in during the alleged act.

The child then told investigators Messieri had touched her inappropriately on several occasions, even though she said no.

The judge ordered Messieri held on $50,000 and revoked bail from a previous charge of driving with a suspended license, Miliote confirmed.

He's due back in court Sept. 1. ..Source.. by Nancy Krause

Inmates attack father in Salinas $25 baby-sale case

6-26-2010 California:

Under heightened courtroom security, two Salinas parents were arraigned Friday in connection with an alleged attempt to sell their 8-month-old daughter.

Patrick Alan Fousek, 38, and Samantha Tomasini, 20, are being held in segregated, lockdown cells at the Monterey County Jail after Fousek was attacked by inmates Thursday night.

Sheriff's Cmdr. Mike Richards said inmates in the open dorm where Fousek had been housed jumped him at 10:15p.m. after the details of his charges were reported on television news.

Richards said the man was transported to Natividad Medical Center, where he was treated for multiple injuries to his face and two cracked ribs before being returned to the jail.

In the courtroom Friday, Fousek had a cut on the bridge of his nose and stitches in his lip, and his right eye was bruised and badly swollen.

AZ- Accused jail killer also assaulted inmate in January

Yes, this is a bit confusing, Van Winkle beat up Summerlin (sex offender see video) in January, then this article goes on to show that Van Winkle murdered Cotton (non sex offender). Van Winkle's comment: "He's a sex offender. I had to do it," Van Winkle told officers."

3-5-2009 Arizona:

The man accused of beating an inmate to death in Maricopa County Jail last May brutally assaulted another inmate in jail in January, with both incidents occurring under the watch of the same detention officer.

Sheriff's officials released information about Pete Van Winkle's alleged January assault of Warren Summerlin on Thursday morning in response to an Arizona Republic records request.

Van Winkle is also accused of beating Robert Cotton to death on May 1, 2008, in the Fourth Avenue Jail.

Video surveillance of that attack showed a man officials said is Van Winkle attempting to drop Cotton's body onto a recreation yard one floor below. Detention officers moved Van Winkle to the jail's Special Management Unit, an area reserved for some of the county's most dangerous criminals.

Van Winkle was charged with Cotton's murder. Cotton was in jail at the time on drug and vehicle theft charges.

Warren Summerlin was housed in a state corrections facility until July, but was back in county custody while he was awaiting a plea agreement and re-sentencing his 1981 sexual assault and murder of a bill collector in Phoenix.

The two men should have never crossed paths, but Jack MacIntyre, a chief deputy with the Sheriff's Office, said a malfunctioning light bulb laid the groundwork for the January attack.

Summerlin was just finishing up his time in the recreation area that separates each cell in the Special Management Unit at about 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 8 when the detention officer opened the door to allow Summerlin back into his cell.

KY- Six Inmates Appear Before A Judge

9-2-2008 Kentucky:

Six of the ten Floyd County inmates accused of beating another inmate nearly to death went before a judge this afternoon.

The six say they did not participate in the alleged beating that left Terry Fisher unconscious and paralyzed, but police disagree.

Police say the inmates are pointing fingers at each other.

Detectives took the stand Tuesday and say none of the inmates in court admitted to hitting Terry Fisher, but say each one accuses the others of beating Fisher.

The detective who interviewed the inmates thinks they all did it together.

The six in court are all charged with first degree assault.

Police say the group labeled Fisher a child molester and picked on him for three days before beating him unconscious.

However, attorneys for two of the men, say their clients did not participate in the attack.

“He does not have a criminal history that depicts any violence in his nature. Mr. Jervis will maintain his innocence and will defend this case as long as he has to,” Kent Varney said.

“Newsome has no history of violence. He was a social worker who unfortunately had a drug and alcohol problem, but has more of a history of helping people,” Gerald DeRossett said.

The judge sent the six cases to the grand jury and set their bond at $50,000 cash.

Four other inmates are also charged. They're expected to be in court later this month.

Terry Fisher remains in very serous condition at Cabell-Huntington Hospital.

Those appearing in court on Tuesday were:
• Chris Newsome
• Kevin Woods
• Matthew Ritchie
• Michael Rowland
• Ivan Gunnels
• Stephen Jervis

..News Source.. by Angela Sparkman

---

KY- Family Defends Man Nearly Killed In Jail Beating

8-29-2008 Kentucky:

He admitted being guilty of a terrible crime, but the family of a man beaten nearly to death says he should have received his punishment in a courtroom, not at the hands of inmates in jail.

Terry Fisher remains unresponsive in the hospital after police say he was attacked by 10 inmates. He plead guilty to sexually abusing a child earlier this month.

Jail officials say when they found 44-year old Fisher lying in his cell they thought he'd had a seizure. Then they realized he'd been beaten. His family says even though he pleaded guilty, he didn't deserve this punishment.

"Just to see him... The way he is now... Tears me to pieces," explains Fisher's older sister, Marilyn Johnson.

Even though he pleaded guilty to unlawful transaction with a minor and third degree sexual abuse charges, her younger brother should have been dealt with in court.

"It shouldn't have happened. He didn't deserve this."

"I don't think inmates should be allowed to decide who they whip and who they don't. Even if they're behind bars--- they still have rights," explained Tina Green, Fisher's niece.

She describes her uncle is a good, humble person who shouldn't have been charged with those crimes.

"I'd stake my life he didn't do it. I trust him completely with my children."

Green says right now Fisher is unresponsive and still bleeding from his brain. She says doctors at Cabell Hospital say he ma never make a full recovery.

"We pretty much know we'll never get our Terry back.... The jail time they would have given him is nothing compared to this. They've given him a life sentence. They've given us one. For the rest of our lives we'll have to take care of him."

Jailer Roger Webb says Fisher was separated from the general jail population and placed in an area with inmates charged with similar crimes.

Three of the ten inmates charged with beating Fisher have not been arrested because they were released from the Floyd County Detention Center before charges were filed. ..News Source.. by WKYT

---

KY- Police Investigating Assault Of Inmate

8-28-2008 Kentucky:

An Eastern Kentucky inmate is in the hospital after police say he was nearly beaten to death in jail.

Ten inmates are accused of throwing the kicks and punches. It happened in the Floyd County Detention Center earlier this month. Thursday, the inmates were all charged with assault.

Police say 55 year old Terry Fisher is in very serious condition in Cabell-Huntington Hospital in West Virginia, but he's non-responsive and may not survive. Officers say he was in jail, accused of molesting a child, and investigators say that's no excuse for the attack.

Investigators believe ten inmates began hazing accused child molester, Terry Fisher, on his first day in jail. Three days later, police say it turned into major fighting.

"Some of the inmates went into a rage and Mr. Fisher was the target," said Det. Steve Little with the Prestonsburg Police Department.

He says the inmates beat Fisher almost to death, including stomping his head into the concrete floor.

"I am very upset that this happened," said Floyd County Jailer Roger Webb.

Jailer Webb says it happened in less than 30 minutes, during a shift change. He says officers did their midnight walk-through and Fisher was fine. At the 12:30 check, he was bloody and unconscious.

"You know, on occasions, tempers do flare, but this was beyond a flared temper," Webb said.

Webb says the cell is actually where he puts non-violent inmates. The ten accused are in jail on mostly theft or drug possession charges.

"Really, in this dorm, this should have never happened. Sometimes you can get one bad apple stirring up the dorm and cause a lot of serious problems," Webb said.

Police say one of the men involved is former social worker, Chris Newsome. He and six others, Ivan Gunnels, Matthew Ritchie, Stephen Jervis, Michael Rowland, Kevin Lee Woods and Larry Adkins are all accused of throwing the worst punches and are charged with first degree assault. David Johnson, Ronald Spurlock, and Keith Page are charged with fourth degree assault.
Police are still investigating how the hazing got out of hand.

"It is obvious to me, that Mr. Fisher was very scared to speak up about his safety," Det. Little said.

"Godspeed that he gets well," Webb said.

Police say the ten accused won't be getting out anytime soon.

Six of the inmates were arraigned Thursday afternoon. Keith Paige pleaded guilty. Chris Newsome, Matthew Ritchie, Stephen Jervis, Michael Rowland, and Kevin Lee Woods pleaded not guilty.

Jailers say three others were in the cell, but they did not participate in the alleged beating. ..News Source.. by Angela Sparkman

Alleged child molester attacked in jail

11-19-2007 Indiana:

Indianapolis - An Indianapolis man accused of child molestation was attacked at the Marion County Jail Monday evening.

Ron Eiland, 59, was asleep in his cell around 10:30 p.m. Sunday when two inmates approached, then assaulted him. Eiland alerted the jail staff, who came to his aid, and he told them he fell out of his bunk. After he was transported to another cell, he told officers about the assault.

Eiland faces charges after police say he molested a nine-year-old girl as she slept on his couch. He turned himself into Metro Police Friday.

Eiland was first investigated by police after he allegedly had the nine-year-old girl talk to a phone sex operator while fondling himself at his home in September. The victim was visiting Eiland's daughter at the time. That operator called police, who accuse Eiland of molesting the girl later that evening. The victim's father called police last month.

"The phone sex operator knew this individual by name. He said he'd called the operator in the past but not on this particular evening," said Sgt. Paul Thompson, IMPD.

Police say those two events gave them enough evidence to obtain a search warrant for Eiland's home where a computer was confiscated.

"I guess I kind of left the world and went to a horror show," said Dee Stafford, describing her reaction to her son's arrest.

For the last ten years, Ron Eiland has worked at his mother's Castleton day care center, although according to Stafford, her son never had direct contact with The Lil' Sprouts Learning Center's 155 children.

"He would never be allowed anywhere near our children. His children at home, wherever, until he's exonerated," said Stafford.

Eiland is accused of touching the girl while she and his daughter were asleep on a couch in his home. Prosecutors say the phone sex operator told police that Eiland told her the victim was a friend of the family. Eiland denies placing the call that night.

Police did not arrest Eiland in September because they say they did not have enough evidence, but officers did report the alleged incident to Child Protective Services. ..more.. by WTHR.com

Inmates attack a child molester

5-26-2007 Michigan:

Battle in courthouse lockup lands offender in hospital

Minutes after being sentenced Friday, a Detroit man who made national headlines for molesting boys he'd met on the Internet was assaulted inside a Wayne County courthouse lockup, resulting in hospitalization.

Ken Gourlay, 29, was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison on 13 counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a 14-year-old boy, who is now 16 and lives with a foster mother in Harper Woods. Gourlay molested the boy from December 2004 to May 2005.

Gourlay made national headlines last year in a sexual assault of a California teen who he met on the Internet and lured to Michigan. That case was highlighted by the New York Times and resulted in congressional hearings in which his victim testified.

Is prison justice on rise?

10-24-2005 Pennsylvania:

Calling this justice is an affront to our system of justice!
They are the "baby rapers," the "tree jumpers," "Chester the Molester."

Sex offenders - especially those who prey on children - occupy one of the lowest rungs of the prison hierarchy, just above snitches.

They are considered scum of the Earth, insiders say. When the other prisoners find out what they're in for, child molesters might as well have a bright red bull's-eye painted on their backs.

In recent weeks, two convicted sex offenders have complained in Bucks County Court that they were being harassed and beaten by other inmates.

Law and order

9-24-2003 Pennsylvania:

EDITOR’S NOTE:
Ten inmates at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility recently spoke to The Reporter for two stories on prison life. Six inmates agreed to be identified by their first names. Four convicted sex
offenders are being identified by nicknames to protect their identities.

NORRISTOWN – It took inmates at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility about two weeks to learn by reading the newspaper that a fellow inmate was a sex offender.

“They asked me if it was me‚” said the inmate‚ who goes by the nickname “Merck.”

Merck said he initially denied that he was the person identified in the news accounts. But the inmates were not convinced. They questioned how he could have harmed the victim‚ then teased him and called him names.

But he was not attacked or abused by the inmates.

It was a different story for a 22-year-old inmate nicknamed “Mole‚” who said he was jumped by several inmates when they learned of his crime.

Mole is now in protective custody at the county prison‚ serving time for having sex with two underage girls. Mole claims the girls lied about their ages‚ dressed and looked older‚ and showed fake IDs that enabled them to get into a bar.

Inmates have a certain “code of honor” they follow inside the walls of a prison.

Sex offender assaulted, in critical condition

4-13-2007 California:

Note: This incident is being recorded, not because of the altercation between two RSOs, but because within the story is mention of earlier incidents in the community.

Note:
On 6-16-2007 it is reported that he died of brain cancer.
David Allyn Dokich, the convicted sex offender whose release to a Mead Valley group home in 2005 outraged the community, is in critical condition today following an assault at the Robert Presley Detention Center in downtown Riverside.

Few details were released by the Sheriff's Department other than he was assaulted at about 2 a.m. today by his cellmate.

Officials looking into Texas inmate's beating while strapped in restraining chair

6-13-2004 Texas:

.FORT WORTH, Texas – Officials are investigating how a prisoner managed to enter the cell of another inmate and beat him as he was strapped to a chair after a suicide attempt. Brady Hicks Jr. suffered cuts and bruises to his head and face last month after fellow Tarrant County Jail inmate Leslie Wardwell rushed past a jailer into the cell, put Hicks in a headlock and punched him for 30 seconds, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in Sunday's editions.

The sheriff's department began investigating the May 9 incident this month after the newspaper inquired about it. Hicks had been placed in a chair that secured his arms and legs after he tried to hang himself. "This should have never, never happened," said Sue Hicks, the inmate's wife. "Dogs are treated better in the pound."

Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said he believes human error led to the incident. "It wasn't anything intentional on the jailer's part, and he tried to stop it," Anderson said. The jailer had opened the isolation room's door when Wardell rushed in and began beating Hicks, Chief Deputy Cedric Simon said.

Inmate Injured (Accused Sex Offender)

3-10-2005 Tennessee:
.A mentally challenged man accused of molesting a child in a Tri-Cities business is in the hospital tonight. 43 year-old David McClellan was found bleeding and suffering from facial injuries around noon Tuesday in a holding cell in the Kingsport detention center. McClellan was in the cell with 7 or 8 other inmates when guards heard a commotion.

Now no one seems to know what happened says Detective Captain Johnny Murray, "If there is a crime and and you have witnesses they aren't talking you have this bond in the inmates." One of McClellan's lawyers, Lynn Dougherty, says it is obvious that he was beaten. Dougherty says McClellan needed stitches. Now his eyes are swollen shut, he has a busted nose, and he has severe bruising across his face. : by TriCities.com ..more..

Child porn defendant claims loss of memory

10-7-2006 Indiana:
.The federal prosecution of a Middletown man accused of taking lewd photographs of a young boy has been delayed by the defendant's claims that a beating he received at the hands of a fellow Henry County jail inmate has robbed him of his memory.

Dick L. Noel -- arrested when state police raided his home, at 9379 N. Henry County Road 800-W, in August 2005 -- was recently transferred to a federal prison system medical facility in Lexington, Ky., for a "mental, medical and neurological examination" to determine whether he is competent to stand trial on child pornography charges.

Public defenders for the 53-year-old Noel had in late August asked U.S. District Court Judge John Tinder to have their client examined "to determine whether he is suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense."

The attorneys said that Noel -- who originally faced state charges in Henry Superior Court 1 that were dismissed when the U.S. district attorney's office filed similar federal charges last November -- was "violently assaulted by another inmate" in the Henry County jail soon after his arrest "and sustained serious neurological and physical injuries." ..more.. : by DOUGLAS WALKER