Ex-SC guard pleads guilty to jailhouse assault

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A former South Carolina guard has pleaded guilty in the jailhouse beating of a handcuffed homeless man.

The State newspaper reports (http://bit.ly/18RUvpc ) that Robin Smith pleaded guilty in Columbia on Wednesday to a federal civil rights violation.

Smith was a guard at the Richland County jail when Robert Sweeper III was arrested in February on trespassing charges. Authorities said Sweeper was incoherent and was placed in a suicide watch cell.

Prosecutors say Smith admitted that he went into Sweeper’s cell, twisted his arm and kicked him. Days later, Sweeper was taken to a hospital, where he spent months recuperating.

Sweeper has sued the county for money to cover his medical bills.

___

Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com