Piscataway Prison Guard Named In Edna Mahan Case Alleging Inmate Abuse

PISCATAWAY, NJ — A Piscataway Township man was among 14 correctional officers indicted this week on charges of misconduct against female prisoners at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility.

The East Piscataway resident who worked as a guard at the women's-only prison is Courey James, 33.

James was named Tuesday in this sweeping indictment from the New Jersey Attorney General that alleges abuse from guards against the women inmates at the prison in Hunterdon County. All of the prison guards have since been fired from the NJ Department of Corrections.

This all stems from a January 2021 incident at the prison in which inmates were forcibly removed from cells and some were beaten, leaving two of the female prisoners severely injured, say prosecutors.

Grand jurors returned an indictment against all 14 of the accused corrections officers on charges of conspiracy, official misconduct, tampering with public records and aggravated assault. The 14 corrections officers indicted Tuesday were:

• Sean St. Paul, 56, of Newark
• Ryan Valentin, 44, of Bloomfield
• Eddie Molina, 44, of East Brunswick
• Amir E. Bethea, 37, of Springfield
• Andraia Bridges, 45, of North Plainfield
• Anthony J. Valvano, 40, of Bound Brook
• Brandon Burgos, 22, of Roseland
• Luis A. Garcia, 25, of Nutley
• Courey James, 33, of East Piscataway
• Jose Irizarry, 38, of Paterson
• Desiree Lewis, 33, of Elizabeth
• Gustavo Sarmiento, 29, of Maywood
• Marika Sprow, 33, of West Orange

• Tara Wallace, 37, of Somerset

Investigators say the incidents happened during the overnight hours between January 11 and January 12, 2021, amid escalating tensions after several incidents of inmates squirting unknown liquids through their cell doors, striking officers.

Prosecutors say the guards looked to extract the women suspected of being involved in these “splashing” incidents.

According to NJ Department of Corrections policy, extraction should be resorted to only after inmates refuse orders to put on handcuffs and leave their cells on their own, or if they pose a threat to themselves or others and refuse to exit a cell.

In this case, prosecutors say, the officers planned to go into the cells and use force regardless of whether any resistance was encountered, and in some instances did not give the targeted inmates an opportunity to comply with orders to put on handcuffs and exit their cells on their own volition. In other incidents the inmates complied with orders to be handcuffed and yet were extracted by force from their cells anyway.

According to the Attorney General, one inmate was punched almost 30 times by one officer while being extracted by a five-person team, despite no apparent provocation or physical resistance from her. Other officers restrained the female inmate while the assault was happening, at times grabbing her hair or shoving her. She was taken to a hospital suffering from headaches, nausea, and vomiting and doctors found she had a concussion.

Another victim, after her extraction despite the fact that she had complied with orders to be handcuffed, was covered with blood and her right eye was swollen shut. She was transported to Hunterdon Medical Center where doctors discovered her skull was broken around her eye. Boot marks were also discovered on her body.

The indictment alleges these officers planned, supervised, participated in or failed to stop “one or more forced cell extractions on the Restorative Housing Unit tier with the purpose of punishing, intimidating or terrorizing one or more inmates.”

They are also accused of failing to intervene in and failing to report the assaults, as is their duty as law enforcement officers. Investigators allege that internal reports generated about the incidents were false or misleading in an attempt to conceal the brutality and what led up to it.