A former correctional officer at Chino State Prison was sentenced Monday to 51 months in federal prison for charges related to a 2002 incident during which he assaulted shackled inmates and then tried to cover up the crime, officials said. Robert McGowan, 51, who lives in the Bloomington area of San Bernardino County, was sentenced after a jury found him guilty on two counts of deprivation of rights under the color of authority for assaulting two prisoners, the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles said.
Federal prosecutors said the abuse followed a brawl between inmates and guards at the San Bernardino County correctional facility. After the fight, prisoners were shackled and put in a van.
McGowan pulled two inmates from the van and let them fall to the ground, prosecutors said. The prisoners sustained minor injuries.
McGowan and two other guards were also found guilty of obstructing justice after they tried to cover up the abuse, prosecutors said.
-- Robert J. Lopez
