LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A former corrections sergeant has been sentenced for his role in a brutal assault of an inmate at an eastern Kentucky facility six years ago.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said 48-year-old Eric Nantell will spend seven years in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
Nantell was convicted in February 2024 on two counts of obstruction of justice for misleading state investigators and one count of making false statements to an FBI special agent.
The July 2018 incident happened at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex in Morgan County.
Investigators said Nantell was working as a supervisor at the facility when three officers assaulted a non-violent inmate, who was lying face-down, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles and was isolated in a prison shower cell.
Nantell was at the door of the shower watching the officers repeatedly “punch and kick” the inmate in the head and back. Nantell walked away after watching for 20 seconds while the guards continued to beat the inmate.
The inmate reported the abuse which spawned an investigation by EKCC supervisors and Kentucky State Police detectives.
The DOJ said Nantell joined with six other officers in a “cover-up scheme” to hide the truth. Investigators said Nantell lied to both agencies and the FBI special agent.
“As the vicious beating of a handcuffed, leg-shackled inmate unfolded, this defendant failed to intervene to stop the assault and then abused his power by obstructing the investigation into the crime,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “This cover-up scheme failed. All seven officers who participated in the brutal assault of the inmate or the coordinated cover-up that followed have been brought to justice. The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable law enforcement officials who engage in misconduct at every level, including those who carry out unlawful assaults, those who fail to intervene to stop them and those who try to cover up the violations.”
Six officers involved in the case have been convicted and sentenced for their role in the assault and cover-up. The DOJ said three of the officers also testified in Nantell’s trial.
The FBI Louisville Field Office investigated the case.
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