Two guards at a federal prison in Massachusetts have pleaded not guilty to charges resulting from what authorities called an assault on a "vulnerable inmate."
Seth Bourget, 39, of Woodstock, Connecticut, was arraigned Thursday in federal court in Boston on deprivation of rights charges. Bourget kneed an inmate in the head while the inmate was handcuffed and restrained in a mental health housing unit at the Federal Medical Center in Devens last June, prosecutors said.
He later struck the inmate with a protective shield, causing additional injuries, according to authorities.
Joseph Lavorato, 51, of Wilmington, is charged with obstruction for allegedly failing to report the full extent of the inmate's injuries and destroying a video recording of the incident.
Bourget's attorney, Michael Sheridan, told the Boston Herald his client's side of the story will be heard during the legal process.
Lavorato's attorney did not address the specifics of the case but said in court that a potential witness had reached out to his client in a text message.
