Prison Trainee Pleads Guilty in Inmate Assault Case

A man who was once training to be a corrections officer in an Alabama prison has pleaded guilty to assaulting a handcuffed inmate.

The Justice Department says former Corrections cadet Jeremy Walker pleaded guilty Monday to a federal civil rights violation.

Walker could receive a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Aug. 24.

Authorities say Walker was working as a trainee at Elmore prison in July 2014 when he got into an argument with an inmate. The two scuffled and the prisoner was placed into a holding cell.

Prosecutors say Walker admitted running into the cell and punching the handcuffed inmate in the head several times. He then threw down the inmate.

Records show federal prosecutors filed charges against Walker last month.

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