Pike County ex-deputy sentenced in inmate beating, pepper-spraying case

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WAVERLY, Ohio (WCMH) – The second of two former Pike County Sheriff deputies was sentenced to serve over eight years in prison after being found guilty for excessive force while employed.

In August a federal jury found Jeremy Mooney guilty on two counts of deprivation of civil rights under the color of law, a charge that carries up to a 10-year prison sentence. On Wednesday a United States District Court Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division judge sentenced Mooney to serve 100 months - eight years and four months - in prison.

The judge also sentenced Mooney to three years of probation for each count, plus a $200 special assessment fine. Attorneys representing both parties will reconvene to work on restitution due to new medical bills brought forth by the victim's families.

Mooney is scheduled to report to the U.S. Marshals Office on Thursday.

A grand jury originally indicted Mooney and his former supervisor, William Stansberry Jr., on Oct. 19, 2022. While they worked a shift overnight from Nov. 17 into Nov. 18, 2019, Mooney took an inmate from the Pike County Jail to the sheriff’s office headquarters. The then-deputy placed the inmate in a “violent prisoner restraint chair” with his hands behind his back, U.S. District Attorney Kenneth Parker said.

Mooney, 48 then spent over an hour violently antagonizing the inmate. Parker detailed that the deputy dragged the inmate, still restrained, outside and pepper sprayed him directly in the face. The inmate moved around from the pain and his chair fell backward. While on the ground, Mooney pepper-sprayed him again.

After bringing the victim back inside, Mooney then punched him in the head 11 times, using enough force to break his own hand, according to Parker. Every instance of unlawful use of force happened while the inmate posed no threat to himself or others.

While Stansberry Jr. did not participate in the beating, he violated the inmate’s constitutional rights by intentionally doing nothing to stop the deputy he supervised.

Stansberry Jr. pleaded guilty to a single charge of the same crime in July 2023, according to the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. On March 12 Stansberry Jr. was sentenced to six months in prison with an additional three years of supervised released