LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Two former employees of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services did not retaliate against a prisoner who reported a sexual assault eight years ago by a prison guard, a judge has ruled.
The guard, Anthony Hansen, was eventually convicted of sexually assaulting the inmate in 2012 at the Omaha Correctional Center. But the lawsuit concerned the inmate's treatment after he reported the assault.
He alleged an interview of him and his subsequent placement in a segregated unit were punishment, The Omaha World-Herald reported. He sued Michael Kenney, a former warden, and Geoff Britton, an investigator who is retired from the Nebraska corrections department.
District Judge Michael Coffey ruled the inmate was placed in the special housing unit at the Omaha Correctional Center for his protection, not as punishment. He said the unit has several restrictive housing situations but not all of them are punitive.
"In a situation where an inmate ... (is) the victim of a sexual assault, it is the best practice for the correctional facility to place the inmate in protective custody for his own protection," Coffey wrote.