Prison guard says inmate punched her

YOUNGSTOWN — A corrections officer told police that she was punched by an inmate at the private prison on Hubbard Road.

Although the attack is alleged to have occurred Aug. 30, the 41-year-old guard didn’t file a report with city police until Wednesday, saying she did so after contacting an attorney. She told police that several individuals at Northeast Ohio Correctional Center had advised her not to report what happened.

Candace Rivera, prison spokesman, said incidents that occur at the facility, which houses mostly illegal criminal aliens for the federal Bureau of Prisons, are investigated internally and the findings turned over to the FBI. She said any charge against an inmate would be federal, not through the city prosecutor.

Rivera said employees are advised that they can contact city police if they want to file a report but the jurisdiction is not the city’s for an assault charge.

Rivera said the report of an assault is the first serious incident since the prison reopened in 2005 with federal inmates.

The inmate accused of punching the corrections officer is a 27-year-old illegal alien who re-entered the country after being deported, Rivera said.

Records show his projected release is Dec. 26, 2011. Rivera said he will then be deported again.