Two former Richmond County deputies will be sentenced in U.S. District Court for their roles in an assault on a jail detainee.
Daniel D’Aversa, 52, and Melissa Morello, 27, pleaded guilty to deprivation of civil rights under color of law, which carries up to a 10-year prison sentence.
The pair were two of six officers arrested earlier this year after video surfaced of the incident.
Both were at the jail May 7, 2022, working to secure a scene after inmates flooded a section of the jail, a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
MORE: RCSO officers arrested for 2022 excessive force on inmates
Morello, a jailer, and D’Aversa, a corporal, shouted to others that a detainee, handcuffed face down, wanted his cuffs removed.
Morello attempted to unlock the detainee’s cuffs “so that another employee would have an excuse to go hands-on with him,” the statement said.
Another deputy then removed the cuffs, and a fourth ““repeatedly punched” the detainee and placed him in a chokehold, the statement said.
During the assault, Morello and D’Aversa “failed to intervene to stop or attempt to stop the assault,” despite having the opportunity to do so, it said.
All six deputies involved in the incident were fired, but the four others are not facing federal charges. The six, as well as Sheriff Richard Roundtree, were named in lawsuits filed by three inmates earlier this year.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall will sentence D’Aversa and Morello at a later date. The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney George J.C. Jacobs III and Anita T. Channapati of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
