LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — A Virginia jail’s former head nurse has been sentenced to a year in prison for falsifying an incident report about injuries an inmate suffered in a beating by other prisoners.
A U.S. district judge sentenced 59-year-old Gary Andrew Hassler on Tuesday. The Rockbridge Regional Jail nurse was convicted in July of falsifying a document to impede an investigation into the jail’s superintendent, John Higgins.
The Roanoke Times reports Higgins is accused of failing to protect the beaten inmate and denying him care. Hassler maintains he asked the inmate if he needed care and he twice refused. Hassler said he realized he hadn’t documented it, and days later filed a report after that inmate had been admitted to a hospital for his injuries.
Higgins faces 21 charges at his December trial.
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Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com