The Associated Press
MANKATO, Minn. — A Blue Earth County jailer who hit a prisoner with a Bible in February has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fifth-degree assault.
Under the plea agreement, two gross misdemeanor charges of mistreatment of a confined person and misconduct by a public officer filed against James Lee Sheppard, 6, were dismissed.
A jail surveillance video showed part of the February assault, which was investigated by police after Sheppard reported the incident.
The investigating officer said the video showed Sheppard hitting the inmate with a book before grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against a set of steel bars.
According to the criminal complaint, the inmate said he was reading his Bible when Sheppard took it from him and hit him with it.