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Former Guard Sentenced To Prison For Assaulting Inmates

By Tony Hanson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A former federal prison guard in Philadelphia has been sentenced to 32 months in prison for what the judge has called a "gross abuse of trust." The defendant molested people he was supposed to be guarding.

Prosecutor Michelle Rotella says 35-year-old defendant Richard Spisak admitted demanding sex from an inmate, even threatening to frame him for assault if he didn't comply.

"When the victim told him 'no', he wasn't going to do it, he told him he was going to press his body alarm and falsely claim that he was being assaulted."

Two other inmates have testified Spisak also sexually assaulted them, they were all coerced.

"He was a senior corrections officer. He was trusted within the prison. He had a lot of friends within the prison. And he -- you're an inmate, who is going to believe you?

Reporter: "And he told the one man exactly that?"

Rotella: "Yes."

The judge ordered Spisak taken into custody immediately. Spisak was stripped of his belt and tie and personal items in court, cuffed and taken away. The former guard is now an inmate.

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