Former Maryland Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Assault an Inmate

Philip Mayo, a former correctional officer at the Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI) in Hagerstown, Md., pleaded guilty to conspiring with other RCI officers to assault an inmate at the state prison during the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. (midnight) shift on March 8-9, 2008.  

 

Mayo, 41, of Randolph, N.Y., pleaded guilty to conspiring with other RCI officers to beat K.D. during the midnight shift on March 9, 2008.     

 

According to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, Mayo and other officers met at RCI during the midnight shift and agreed to assault K.D. in retaliation for a prior incident involving K.D. and another officer.   Mayo and three other correctional officers then entered K.D.’s cell in order to assault inmate K.D., while a fourth officer watched.   Officers then assaulted K.D.

 

“Mr. Mayo has admitted that he and other officers conspired to use unlawful force to punish an inmate,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.   “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute those officers who violate the rights of inmates.”

 

Mayo faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.   Sentencing is set for Oct. 28, 2013, before U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar.

 

In connection with an assault on inmate KD that occurred during the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift on March 9, 2008, former RCI Correctional Officers Ryan Lohr and Dustin Norris each recently entered guilty pleas before Judge Bredar.  

 

The investigation by the Frederick, Md., Resident Agency of the FBI is ongoing.   The case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Forrest Christian and Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.