Columbus, Ohio — A Franklin County jail deputy was handed criminal charges yesterday, accused of tampering with the food of an inmate.
Deputy Joseph Cantwell, 37, has been given a summons to appear in Franklin County Municipal Court on misdemeanor charges of dereliction of duty, disorderly conduct and two health-code violations.
The most severe dereliction charge, a second-degree misdemeanor, carries a $750 fine and up to 90 days in jail. The health-code violations each are punishable by a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail. The disorderly conduct charge carries a $250 fine and up to 30 days in jail.
Cantwell is accused of arranging for a prisoner to eat a sandwich that another prisoner had touched with his penis. The deputy is accused of using a cell phone to record the incident.
The sandwich was delivered to the prisoner by another deputy, but he was not charged because investigators did not find probable cause. (The Dispatch is not naming the second deputy because he has not been charged or disciplined.)
Both deputies also will face an internal investigation and possible administrative charges, Sheriff Jim Karnes has said. They have been reassigned to the jail's control center, where they will have no contact with prisoners, pending the outcome of the investigation.
The deputies work second shift in the Downtown jail at 370 S. Front St.
An official report says the incident occurred at 6 a.m. on Feb. 16, but the 49-year-old alleged victim could not tell investigators what day or time he ate the sandwich. He said the incident sickened him, but he indicated that he did not want to prosecute.
"The known suspects did create a condition that is physically offensive to the listed victim by taunting the victim, by placing a biological substance in food consumed by the victim," according to the report.
The prisoner served the sandwich has an April trial date in which he faces aggravated robbery charges from a bank robbery, court records show. Last week, a judge ordered him to undergo a mental-health examination to determine his competency to stand trial.
Other deputies became aware of the sandwich incident and notified supervisors. They have seen cell-phone images of the incident, said Chief Deputy Mark Barrett. Deputies are forbidden from carrying cell phones in the jail or mistreating prisoners.
Karnes declined to comment yesterday. He could not be reached last night.
A West Side man told WBNS-TV (Channel 10) last night that he filed a lawsuit in October over poor treatment at the jail by a jail nurse and four other deputies. One of his complaints involved tainted food served to him as retaliation while he was detained.
Cantwell, who has been state-certified as a police officer and formerly worked as a juvenile corrections officer, was hired in October 2001 as a jail deputy. He is paid $66,638 annually. His personnel file contains three minor reprimands and one commendation.
All Franklin County deputy sheriffs start their careers in the jails. The two men have hired private attorneys, but they will be represented in any job action by the Fraternal Order of Police, a spokesman said.
Dispatch reporter Dean Narciso contributed to this story.
