A former New Jersey state prison corrections officer was sentenced Tuesday to one year and eight months in prison after He previously admitted that he did nothing to break up two assaults on inmates, federal prosecutors said.

Joshua Hand, 35, of Millville, who previously worked for Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, pleaded guilty in February to one count of depriving two inmates of their right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, according to a statement from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office. New Jersey Office District.

In December 2019, Hand was inside officers’ quarters inside the jail’s kitchen area when the first inmate was called to that room, the office said.

Shortly after the person entered the officers’ quarters, the exit door was blocked and, in Hand’s presence, the inmate was simultaneously assaulted by several other prisoners and knocked to the ground, investigators said.

Hand watched and did not attempt to intervene as several inmates pinned and pinned the inmate to the ground while other inmates delivered multiple punches and other blows to his torso, arms and legs, officials said.

Hand did not report this assault to his supervisors or medical staff despite knowing he was obligated to do so, authorities said.

Later that day, another inmate was in the officers’ quarters when correctional officers hit him in the legs with a broom several times, federal prosecutors said. Hand also saw this assault occur and again did not intervene or report it to supervisors or medical staff, he said.

A federal judge also sentenced Hand to three years of supervised release and fined him $10,000, according to the statement.