NJ Corrections Officer Admits Assaulting Inmates: Feds

CUMBERLAND COUNTY – A Cumberland County prison corrections officer admitted Friday to agreeing with others to physically assault inmates for both real and fabricated violations of the prison’s rules in a way that resulted in several inmate injuries and violated their civil rights, federal officials said.

John Makos, 42, of Millville, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court to an information charging him with conspiring with others to deprive inmates of their right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

While Makos worked as a corrections officer, he conspired with colleagues at Bayside State Prison in Leesburg to assault inmates in a “cruel and arbitrary manner,” Sellinger said, including using excessive force that caused physical injury from April to December 2019.

Related: NJ Prison Hit 94 Degrees As Inmates, Officers Lacked Air Conditioning

Related: Convict Captured Shortly After Escape From NJ Prison: DOC

The assaults took place while the inmates were under Makos’ supervision and in areas of the Prison’s kitchen that were out of sight of institutional surveillance cameras, Sellinger said. In one instance, on Dec. 7, 2019, Makos watched and did not try to stop multiple inmates from pinning a victim to the floor and punched the victim about 25 times.

Makos did not report this assault, even though he knew he was required to do so, Sellinger said.

The former corrections officer now faces at least 10 years in state prison. Sentencing is scheduled for March 23, 2022.

Makos is also named in a lawsuit brought by former inmates detailing the excessive use of force and violent environment in Bayside State Prison, according to an NJ.com report.