ALFRED — Four corrections officers at York County Jail have been indicted by a York County Grand Jury on misdemeanor charges ranging from assault to criminal threatening to reckless conduct.
The indictments, handed up by a York County Grand Jury, were announced this morning by Sheriff Maurice Ouellette and stem from an incident that allegedly took place three weeks ago as corrections officers were responding to a cell of a male inmate in the maximum security unit of the jail.
The inmate has since been sentenced and is no longer incarcerated at York County Jail.
Indicted were Roger Souliere, 30, of Waterboro, charged with assault, criminal threatening and reckless conduct; John Sibya, 25, of Alfred, charged with assault, criminal threatening and reckless conduct; Daniel Roy, 26, of Lyman, assault and criminal threatening; and Michael Pitts, 27 of Biddeford, assault and criminal threatening.
All have been placed on paid administrative leave.
The charges came as a result of an investigation into a complaint from the inmate after the officers responded to his cell. The information was presented to the York County District Attorney, who in turn, presented it to the Grand Jury, which handed up the indictments Thursday, said Ouellette.
The inmate was “acting out,” which is why corrections staff were responding to his cell, said Ouellette, who declined to be more specific about what allegedly transpired.
“The sad part is we’ve got some good people that work (in the jail),” said Ouellette. “This is not a reflection on the good work they do. In the heat of the moment, sometimes people make mistakes. I understand some of the frustration that goes on.”
As sheriff, Ouellette said he is responsible for the care, control and custody of inmates.
“I can’t look the other way,” he said.
Ouellette said the four corrections staff involved have worked at York County Jail from just under a year to about three years.
While the charges against the four move through the court system, there will also be a separate internal investigation conducted by Maj. Bill King of the Sheriff’s Office.
The maximum sentence on a conviction of a Class D misdemeanor is less than one year in jail.
“We can’t take back what happened. We’ll do some training and move forward,” said Ouellette.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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