AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Two former Richmond County Sheriff’s Office deputies have pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges related to an assault on a jail inmate.

Daniel D’Aversa, 52, and Melissa Morello, 27, are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to information charging them with civil disenfranchisement.

They are among at least five law enforcement officers charged in connection with the May 7, 2022 incident at the Chares B. Webster Detention Center.

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The incident occurred after deputies responded to a call about unruly inmates.

Inmates had thrown sprinkler heads to flood the prison in protest of plumbing problems, such as toilets not working. A source told the I-TEAM that it’s not uncommon for inmates to do this to draw attention to something, but the responding deputies probably didn’t know that.

After reviewing body camera and surveillance video, it was determined that the amount of force used in response to the call was unnecessary.

Watch the video of the response above to be the judge.

D’Aversa and Morello each face up to 10 years in federal prison, as well as significant fines and restitution, followed by up to three years of supervised release upon completion of any prison terms.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg of the Southern District of Georgia, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sean Burke of the FBI Atlanta Field Office.

As described in plea agreements, Morello was a guard at the Richmond County Charles D. Webster Detention Center and D’Aversa was a corporal with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. Both were at the jail on May 7, 2022, working with other Richmond County Sheriff’s Office guards and deputies to ensure the safety of inmates when part of the jail was flooded.

A pretrial detainee, identified in court documents as Victim 1, was handcuffed face down in the jail when D’Aversa and Morello yelled at other staff that he wanted Victim 1’s handcuffs removed.

Morello then “attempted to unlock Victim 1’s handcuffs so that another employee would have an excuse to deal with him personally,” and when Morello was unsuccessful, a deputy listed as Deputy 2 unlocked and removed the handcuffs.

An MP listed as Deputy 1 was later referred to as “Deputy 1”. He punched the Victim multiple times and forced her into a chokehold. …during Deputy 1’s attack on Victim 1” and both Morello and D’Aversa “failed to intervene to stop or attempt to stop the attack” despite having the opportunity to do so.

U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall will schedule sentencing for D’Aversa and Morello upon completion of pre-sentence investigations by the U.S. Probation Service.

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