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Joshua Hand, 35, of Millville, was sentenced on Tuesday, Nov. 5 to 20 months in prison, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. He was a corrections officer at Bayside State Prison.
According to court documents and statements, Hand was in the officers' quarters in the kitchen area when the first victim entered the room in December 2019.
"Shortly after the victim entered the officers’ quarters, the exit door was blocked and in the presence of Hand, the victim was assaulted simultaneously by several inmates and taken down to the floor," Sellinger said. "Hand watched and did not attempt to intervene when multiple inmates pinned and restrained the victim on the floor while other inmates delivered multiple punches and other blows to the victim’s torso, arms, and legs."
On the same day, a second victim also entered the quarters with Hand and another corrections officer in the room. The officer hit the inmate with a broomstick several times and Hand didn't intervene to stop the assault.
Hand didn't report the assaults to his supervisors or medical personnel despite knowing he was required to report it. He pleaded guilty on Monday, Feb. 26 to depriving both inmates of their right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.
Another Bayside officer, 42-year-old John Makos of Millville, also pleaded guilty to brutality that one victim described as a "fight club." Makos took advantage of parts in the kitchen away from surveillance cameras where inmates during and after their work shifts were beaten by him, his colleagues, and fellow prisoners.
Makos was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.
The judge also sentenced Hand to three years of supervised release and fined him $10,000.
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