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Lackawanna County Prison guard who returned to work after inquiry, abused inmate, suit says

Times-Tribune - 7/26/2018

July 26--A former Lackawanna County Prison guard who returned to work at the jail after being cleared of allegations he sexually abused a female inmate continued to use his position to sexually assault another inmate, according to a new federal lawsuit.

Scranton attorney Matthew Comerford says Mark A. Johnson, who was suspended in June 2016, was permitted to return to work in March 2017, after Warden Tim Betti conducted a "sham" investigation of the claims made by the first woman. Within a month of his return, Johnson demanded the second inmate show him her breasts and then revoked her phone privileges after she refused, the suit says. Johnson also grabbed her breasts in a hallway on an unspecified date, the suit says.

The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault.

Johnson is among seven former guards charged Feb. 14 with abusing inmates based on a statewide grand jury investigation handled by the state attorney general's office. The indictment alleges Johnson abused two inmates -- neither of whom are the woman in the lawsuit. He was fired on March 8, based on the charges.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, is the fourth Comerford filed on behalf of female inmates who claim they were subjected to years of sexual abuse and that prison and county officials knew of the abuse but did nothing to stop it.

In addition to Johnson, the newest lawsuit names 13 other defendants, including Lackawanna County Commissioners Patrick O'Malley, Laureen Cummings and Jerry Notarianni, alleging they are partly to blame for the abuse because they allowed Johnson to return to work.

Donald Frederickson, general counsel for the county, said commissioners asked Betti to investigate the allegations in the latest lawsuit and to prepare a report to advise them if they can prove or disprove the claims.

Asked if Betti is the appropriate person to investigate given the allegations in the lawsuit that his first probe was a sham, Frederickson said, "I understand that but he runs the prison."

Frederickson said the county also notified the state attorney general's office, which is continuing its criminal investigation of abuse allegations, of the claims in the latest lawsuit.

"If they want to conduct an investigation, that's up to the AG, if they have not already," he said, noting he did not know if prosecutors spoke to the woman.

The lawsuit says the woman was incarcerated at the county jail on various occasions between 2012 and 2017. In addition to assaulting her in 2017, Johnson is accused of forcing the woman to perform oral sex on him inside a maintenance closet more than 10 times between 2013 and 2016 -- a claim similar to allegations made by one of the women for whom Johnson now faces charges.

Attempts to reach attorney Robert Levant, who represents Johnson in the criminal case, were unsuccessful.

The suit also makes allegations against former guards Arthur McPhillips, now deceased, and Robert Egan. McPhillips is accused of repeatedly forcing the woman to have sexual intercourse with him in a prison stairwell between 2012 and 2013,while Egan, who was fired in June 2015 for abusing the Family Medical Leave Act, is accused of repeatedly grabbing her buttocks, making lewd comments and requesting sexual favors. The suit does not specify the dates of Egan's alleged conduct.

McPhillips, who died of cancer in January, is among the guards who were named in the second lawsuit Comerford filed in July 2016. McPhillips, Johnson and two other guards, James J. Walsh and George T. McHale, were suspended in June 2016, after Comerford provided the county an advance copy of the suit. Johnson and McHale, who also is among the seven former guards charged in February, returned to work on March 2, 2017 after being cleared by Betti.

Attempts to reach Betti were unsuccessful.

In an interview the day after Johnson, McHale and the other guards were charged, he defended his decision to allow the two men to return, saying he did not have the resources the attorney general's office had in its criminal investigation.

Betti said his probe was more of an "administrative" review. He could not corroborate allegations in the lawsuit.

"It seemed to boil down to a 'he said, she said,'" Betti said at the time. " I didn't have evidence for either side."

Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137; @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter

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