BOGALUSA, La. (AP) - A Louisiana grand jury has indicted five former sheriff’s deputies and 16 male inmates in connection with allegations of a jailhouse beating of one inmate and the rape of another.
The Washington Parish grand jury charged two ex-deputies with aggravated second-degree battery and all five with malfeasance in office, District Attorney Warren Montgomery said Monday in a statement.
Two inmates are charged with a Sept. 5 rape, authorities said. One of the two is also among 15 inmates charged with committing simple battery Sept. 4-5. Authorities said the rape and beating both occurred at the Washington Parish jail.
Montgomery said the aggravated second-degree battery charge accuses ex-deputy Frank Smith, 22, of Mount Hermon, and Elliot Smith, 21, of Mandeville, of using a power cord to harm an inmate between July 26 and Sept. 5, while they were deputies.
Frank Smith also is charged with second-degree battery against the same victim between those dates. The news release does not describe the allegation behind that charge.
Montgomery said former deputies John Donaldson, 30, and Austin Rogers, 19, both of Franklinton, and Pamela Willis, 48, of Tylertown, Mississippi, are charged only with malfeasance.
Rogers is charged with malfeasance from July 26 through Sept. 5. The other four are accused of committing malfeasance on Sept. 4-5.
Montgomery’s spokeswoman, Lisa Page, said she did not know whether the former deputies had attorneys, or whether the Smiths are related.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.