A former New Jersey prison guard has been sentenced to five years behind bars for assaulting an inmate in 2017, authorities announced Monday.
Cortlen Flax, a 37-year-old Woodbury resident, was convicted in July of attacking Julio Valdez in his cell at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton.
Valdez, who was 61 at the time, suffered a ruptured left ear drum in the assault, authorities said. Flax is no longer employed as a state prison guard.
The incident began on Feb. 14, 2017, when Valdez was searching for a seat after picking up food, then encountered Flax, according to a civil lawsuit Valdez filed in 2019. Flax only spoke English, and Valdez only knew Spanish, which led to a confrontation and Valdez returning to his cell, the suit said.
Investigators said that Flax then followed Valdez inside the cell, where he punched the inmate on the left side of his head, knocking him unconscious. In his lawsuit, Valdez said other prison guards ignored the assault and walked by his cell, leaving him without medical care for 13 hours.
Valdez, who was serving time for burglary and criminal mischief, settled the civil suit in 2019 for undisclosed terms. Flax was convicted in July on charges of simple assault and second-degree official misconduct, leading to his firing.
His defense attorneys sought a new trial in September, arguing that evidence presented to the jury did not accurately depict the assault, but the court denied that request.
“This department upholds a zero-tolerance policy against abuse, exploitation and excessive force toward incarcerated individuals,” New Jersey’s corrections department said in a post-conviction statement.
