Posted at 8:57 a.m., Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Ex-guard in American Samoa admits inmate abuse
Associated Press
HONOLULU — A former corrections officer at a correctional facility in American Samoa pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court here to a felony civil rights charge.Siaumau Mapu also pleaded guilty to making false statements to federal agents.
Mapu admitted in court that he abused his authority as a corrections officer at the Tafuna Correctional Facility in 2003 when he repeatedly struck an inmate on the head.
The inmate suffered permanent ear damage as a result of the beating, prosecutors said.
Mapu acknowledged making false statements in 2003 to FBI agents investigating another alleged assault at the same correctional facility.
Mapu faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment and a $500,000 fine.
"The overwhelming majority of correctional officers dispatch their difficult duties with honor and professionalism," Wan J. Kim, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said in a news release issued in Washington. "The Justice Department will aggressively prosecute those who cross the line to engage in acts of criminal misconduct."
