Corrections Officers Stood By As Juvenile Inmate Was Beaten Blind In Fieldsboro, Lawsuit Says

Corrections officers at a Burlington County juvenile detention center didn't come forward to help a former teenage inmate from a brutal beating by three other inmates, a lawsuit alleges.

The 19-year-old inmate from Essex County was left permanently blind in one eye and has psychological problems due to the attack at the Juvenile Medium Security Facility (JMSF) in Fieldsboro on Aug. 4, 2022, according to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, July 2 in Supreme Court in Mercer County. (See attached below)

Because of his age, the plaintiff is only identified as "N.J.S."

“Officers were notified the morning of the attack that a teenage detainee would be assaulted. He was – brutally," Ernesto Cerimele, his Morristown attorney, told Daily Voice on Friday, July 5.

"They could have protected him from the attack but didn’t, as surveillance footage shows. He is now permanently blind and disabled as a result.”

The Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) "has a duty — a constitutional mandate — to protect these young men from known assaults or other threats," Cerimele said. "Their failure to do that on this occasion resulted in severe life-threatening injuries.”

Daily Voice reached out to the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission and the state Attorney General's Office which oversees the JJC on Friday, July 5. The AG's office replied only that it "has no comment on the litigation."

The JJC did not return calls for comment.

The 19-year-old victim was playing cards with another inmate in a common area when the attack occurred, Cerimele said. Just one guard was nearby even though the facility knew an assault was imminent, the suit states.

Five corrections officers, a sergeant and Superintendent Christian Nnajiofor are named as defendants in the lawsuit: The guards are only identified by last name in the lawsuit.

One of the attackers stood behind the victim and began assaulting him before two other inmates joined in and began punching him, according to court documents.

Two inmates then climbed onto a table, jumped down and stomped on the victim's head at least four times apiece, the suit says. The attackers then punched the victim a few more times, the lawsuit alleges.

One corrections officer stood watching when the attack started and briefly waited before calling for backup from other guards and a sergeant, the suit alleges.

The other officers arrived and broke up the attack. It was unclear whether any of them had been disciplined.

The state JJC and the Superintendent of JMSF, "were aware of a longstanding culture of abuse amongst juvenile detainees at the JMSF," the lawsuit states.

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