No Evidence To Support Abuse Claims At Essex County Jail: ECPO

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Prosecutors say there is “insufficient evidence” to support criminal charges against correctional officers accused of abusing two ICE detainees in Essex County earlier this year.

On Tuesday, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (ECPO) announced that its professional standards unit has concluded that claims made by the detainees – who said they were the victims of an unprovoked assault at Essex County Correctional Facility on May 17 – are “not supported by the evidence.”

One of the inmates, Dover High School alum Jose Hernandez-Velasquez, 20, currently awaits deportation due to a series of low-level offenses, including disorderly conduct and trespassing. He claimed officers at the prison forced him to strip naked and beat him after a chaotic confrontation involving another inmate and a corrections officer in May, Gothamist/WNYC reported.

However, after examining evidence that included video footage and statements from officers and detainees, investigators concluded that the evidence “contradicted the detainees’ version of events.”

For example, the other inmate involved, Wilson Pena Lojo, alleged he was the victim of a sexual assault, yet he never claimed an act of sexual penetration or that a sexual act had occurred, prosecutors stated.

Lojo did allege that he was struck in the groin, prosecutors said.

The investigation was conducted jointly by the ECPO Professional Standards Unit and the internal affairs unit at Essex County Correctional Facility.

The county-run prison, which is located in Newark, houses a mix of criminal and civil inmates. It contracts with ICE to house hundreds of federal detainees awaiting deportation, an arrangement that brings in an estimated $50 million per year for the county, some experts say.

In October, Essex County officials announced the formation of a civilian task force" at the jail amid accusations of stomach-churning health and safety risks for inmates.

• See related article: Task Force Could Protect Inmates At Embattled Essex County Prison
• See related article: Mentally Ill Inmate Hung Himself While In Straitjacket, Family Says

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released two scathing reports about conditions at the jail. Inspectors found blood leaking from open boxes of raw chicken and garbage bags full of moldy bread saved to make bread pudding, among several other alleged violations.

• See related article: Jail Served Us Meatballs That Smelled Like Feces, Inmate Says
• See related article: Essex County Jail Stuck ICE Detainees With Giant Underwear

After the OIG reports were released, Essex County officials and prison administrators took immediate action to fix several of the violations found by inspectors. In addition, officials announced plans to spend a portion of the revenue from the ICE contract to provide free lawyers for immigrant detainees at the prison.

According to county officials, the Essex County Correctional Facility is accredited by the American Correctional Association. It has received 100 percent compliance with the New Jersey State Department of Corrections every year since 2006, and has been accredited by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities since 2007.

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