KENTUCKY
A federal judge on sentenced a former supervisory deputy jailer at the Kentucky River Regional Jail to nine years in prison for beating an inmate and trying to cover up the beating, officials announced Friday.
U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell on Thursday sentenced Kevin Eugene Asher, 32.
Under federal law, Asher must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.
On April 12, 2017, a jury convicted Asher, 32, of deprivation of civil rights under color of law, and obstruction of justice.
According to the evidence, in November 2012, Asher and another deputy jailer, Damon Wayne Hickman, physically assaulted Gary Hill, a 55-year-old inmate who was being held following an arrest for a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
According to testimony, Deputies Asher and Hickman approached Hill after Hill had run the faucet in his jail cell to the point where water had spilled out onto the floor.
Hickman testified at trial that he punched Hill in the face, causing Hill to fall onto the floor. Hickman further testified that while Hill was curled up in a fetal position, he and Asher began kicking Hill.
Asher and Hickman then immobilized Hill in a restraint chair and Hickman continued to beat him.
Evidence indicated that following the brutal assault, the deputies failed to obtain any medical treatment for Hill who had received numerous injuries.
The jury also found that Asher obstructed justice by filling out an incident report at the jail in which he falsely claimed that Hill had slipped and fallen onto the floor and that no physical force had been used against him, according to authorities.
The Kentucky River Regional Jail houses pre-trial detainees from Perry and Knott Counties.
“Nothing justifies or excuses the defendant’s outrageous conduct in this case,” said Acting Assistant U.S. Attorney General John Gore. “When deputy jailers make the corrupt choice to violate our Constitution and laws, the Justice Department will prosecute such misconduct, just as it did here.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Carlton Shier said: “Prosecuting this type of disgraceful conduct is critical to making our communities safer. We simply must hold officials accountable for violations of the public trust that was placed in them.”