By Adrian Uribarri
The Orlando Sentinel
Coleman, Fla. — An officer at the Federal Correctional Complex in Coleman was indicted Thursday on charges related to a deadly assault on an inmate, the U.S. Justice Department said.
More than three years after the March 2005 assault, a federal grand jury in Orlando charged Erin Sharma with conspiring to violate the federal civil rights of inmate Richard Delano and arranging for another inmate to assault him, according to the indictment.
The grand jury found that Sharma and an unnamed co-conspirator agreed to move Delano into another inmate’s cell at the correctional complex in February 2005. The indictment alleges that Sharma and the conspirator knew that John McCullah, the inmate, was likely to assault Delano, and that they moved Delano into McCullah’s cell in retaliation for a prior scuffle between Delano and Sharma. Sharma encouraged McCullah to assault Delano, according to the indictment.
Delano died after he slipped into a coma caused by injuries during McCullah’s assault on March 4, 2005.
“It was a complicated investigation that took time,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Adams, who will prosecute the case. Adams did not elaborate on the probe conducted by the FBI and the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General.
In late January, federal prosecutors and prison officials announced charges against nine employees at the Coleman facilities. Most were accused of taking bribes of up to $20,000 for smuggling drugs and other forbidden items into the correctional complex since 2005.
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