Correction Officer Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Handcuffed Inmate

HYDE PARK, NY — A correction officer in the Hudson Valley admitted in court that he assaulted an inmate and, as a result, deprived him of his constitutional rights.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that Aaron Finn, 36, of Hyde Park, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law.

He said Finn, who was a correction officer at the Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville, assaulted an inmate in the custody of the state March 19, 2020, repeatedly striking and thrashing his head and body, while the inmate was restrained with handcuffs.

Williams said Finn's actions deprived the inmate of his constitutional right to be free from excessive force amounting to cruel and unusual punishment.

"This conviction should send a loud and clear message," he said, "the protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution extend to all Americans, including inmates.

"When the constitutional rights of inmates are violated, we will act aggressively to bring wrongdoers to justice," Williams said.

According to prosecutors, Finn used his body to press a handcuffed inmate face-first against a wall, and then repeatedly struck the back of the inmate's head, causing the man's head to hit a cinder block wall.

Finn then repeatedly thrashed the inmate's head against steel cell bars.

After the assault, authorities said, the inmate required stitches to multiple lacerations on his face and head.

The charge of deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.