Submitted by Fox First at Ten on December 21st
By MICHAEL BIESECKERAssociated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A criminal investigation triggered by complaints from North Carolina inmates that they were forced to rub habanero hot sauce on their genitals is now focusing on the conduct of two prison guards.
N.C. Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Pamela Walker said Friday that agents from the State Bureau of Investigation had opened a formal criminal investigation into two correctional officers at Sampson Correctional Institution. The move comes after the SBI agents conferred with a local prosecutor about possible criminal charges.
The prison's warden and another staffer were placed on paid leave earlier this month after six inmates said they were forced to perform humiliating acts for the entertainment of guards, including stripping nude, slathering hot sauce on their private parts and pretending to have sex. A third staff member resigned.
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