Illinois prison guard gets 4 months for assaulting inmate

BENTON, Ill. (AP) - A former Illinois correctional officer received a four-month prison sentence for choking, punching and kneeing a handcuffed prisoner in 2016.

Dustin A. Fleming of DuQuoin pleaded guilty in July to depriving the inmate of his rights under color of law and was subsequently fired.

The inmate, Martell Franklin, and Fleming were at the Pinckneyville Correctional Center when the incident occurred.

In a lawsuit filed in June, Franklin said he and Fleming got into a "verbal altercation" on Oct. 15, 2016, and Fleming attacked him after he was transferred to the prison segregation unit. The lawsuit says other officers watched the attack. Those guards have denied the allegations.

In addition to prison time, the 31-year-old Fleming must pay a $200 fine and will be placed on two years of supervised release.