4 guards charged with assaulting inmate

ATTICA, N.Y. (WIVB) - Four corrections officers at the Attica Correctional Facility have been indicted on charges they conspired to and assaulted a prisoner.

The Wyoming County District Attorney's office has charged Keith Swack, 37, of Corfu; Sean Warner, 37, of Belfast; Matthew Raddemacher, 29, of Wyoming; and Erik Hibsch, 28, of Gainesville have been charged with first degree gang assault, fourth degree conspiracy, tampering with physical evidence, and official misconduct. Warner was additionally charged with first degree offering a false instrument for filing. They had been under investigation for this assault for the past four months.

Authorities say the four men planned to assault George Williams, an inmate at the facility, on August 9th and did so, then gave false physical evidence, a razor, and submitted false statements to the prison to cover up their crime. Warner then allegedly submitted the false paperwork.

State Police say Williams suffered substantial injuries, including broken bones and fractures, but they are not considered life threatening. The Associated Press reports Williams, 29, was serving a two-to-four year sentence after being convicted of larceny for stealing jewelry from two Manhattan stores in 2008 and 2009. Williams was moved to another prison near Buffalo and is still recovering from his injuries.

>> You can read the indictment against the men here

Officer Hibsch has worked for the Department of Corrections for four years, while Officers Rademacher and Swack have both worked in corrections for six years. Sergeant Warner has been with the Department of Corrections since 1997. All four men began working at Attica in the beginning of September of this year.

Each of the guards are being held on $25,000 bail. All four will be back in court in February.

The NYS Department of Corrections released a statement saying, in part, "When an alleged assault occurs in any DOCCS facility, we investigate it thoroughly and take the appropriate action, including, when appropriate, referring the matter to the State Police for criminal investigation and the District Attorney for prosecution - whether the incident involves offenders or staff. As with any criminal investigation and prosecution, we will cooperate fully with every agency involved in this matter."