Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty To Punching Handcuffed Girl: Morris County Prosecutor

MORRISTOWN, NJ— A corrections officer had pled guilty after being accused of punching an underage girl who was in handcuffs, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said.

Katria Thorne-Stevenson, a former corrections officer at the Morris County Juvenile Detention Center, pled guilty to one charge of simple assault stemming from a Nov. 5, 2016 incident.

Thorne-Stevenson used excessive force while restraining an underage girl at the detention center, identified only as Jane Doe. Doe was handcuffed at the time, and Thorne-Stevenson hit her "in the face with a closed fist, in excess of the force needed to accomplish any lawful purpose," Knapp said.

Doe had bruising and swelling on her lip as a result.

Thorne-Stevenson resigned effective immediately from her job at the detention center, and as part of a plea agreement, will be barred from working in any law enforcement or corrections positions in the state.

She will be sentenced on April 28.

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