MAHONING COUNTY Inmates face assault charges

The deputy was beaten with his radio and hit with scalding water, the sheriff said.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Two Mahoning County jail inmates were to be arraigned today in the beating of a Mahoning County deputy sheriff.
Deputy Kevin Vivacqua, who had a laceration above his left eye after the beating Saturday, was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center for treatment.
Sheriff Randall A. Wellington said the deputy's radio was removed from his belt and he was beaten with it. One of the assailants, who was heating water in a microwave, also threw scalding water on the deputy, the sheriff said.
Wellington said Vivacqua remains off duty.
Michael A. Jones, 21, of Fourth Street, Struthers, is charged with felonious assault on a peace officer. Jones has been in jail since Feb. 24, charged with intimidation and aggravated menacing. His case is pending in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Wayne A. Castle Jr., 25, of West Wood Street, is charged with complicity to felonious assault. Records show Castle has been in jail since Nov. 23, 2003, on $1 million bond. Castle pleaded guilty Monday in common pleas court to six counts of rape and will be sentenced March 31, records show. Six counts of gross sexual imposition were dismissed.
Aided by other deputies
Vivacqua sent out a distress call at 10:45 p.m. Saturday and several deputies went to his aid and removed him from the day room of N Pod, reports show.
"Luckily he was not hurt worse," said Deputy Glenn Kountz, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 141. He said N Pod, which holds inmates with mental issues, was not overcrowded but without having the entire jail open, separation of inmates based on classification is hampered.
The jail, which is going through the remedial stage of a class-action lawsuit, does not have all pods open. The jail population is not supposed to exceed 296.
Kountz said the population continues to rise -- it was 413 Monday -- because some judges order that inmates post bond before being released.
"We're doing the best we can. I still think we're overcrowded and understaffed," Kountz said. "We had full staff [Saturday] night on that shift and float deputies on duty responded."
Plea deal
Castle's trial on charges he raped two young girls was supposed to begin Monday, but he instead accepted a plea agreement. The six amended charges of rape omit language about the use or threat of force. That terminology could have led to life sentences for Castle.
A 20-year prison term will be recommended when Castle is sentenced, assistant County Prosecutor Dawn Krueger said.
The rape charges are first-degree felonies. Castle could receive up to 60 years in jail and fines totaling $120,000, Judge Evans said. Castle also agreed to a sexual predator specification that includes mandatory reporting to authorities for the rest of his life, Judge James C. Evans said.
The victims were ages 7 and 3 when the rapes occurred in November 2003. Castle was a friend of the girls' family, Krueger said.