See Also: State jail standards rarely enforced4-13-2014 Ohio:
A Marysville man accused of rape died on Friday from injuries suffered in an April 5 beating by other inmates at the Tri-County Regional Jail in Champaign County.
Authorities have released little information about the fight involving 39-year-old David Piersol on April 5, except to say that he was in the general population with more than a dozen other inmates, not in an isolated cell.
Piersol died at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where he had been in critical condition and on life support since the attack, officials said.
The jail, in Mechanicsburg in Champaign County, houses inmates from Champaign, Madison and Union counties. Piersol was in custody out of a Union County case.
Court records show that he was charged in February with rape of a child, sexual battery and gross sexual imposition.
After the beating, Piersol was taken to the hospital and placed under a 24-hour guard, said Union County Prosecutor David Phillips, whose office was handling the criminal case against Piersol.
Phillips said that the assault left Piersol in such critical condition that a guard wasn’t necessary. He asked a judge that same day to release Piersol from police custody. That was done.
Jail Director Scott Springhetti could not be reached for comment and did not respond to an email. Champaign County Sheriff Matt Melvin is in charge of investigations at the jail, but no one at his office would comment.
The jail’s capacity is 156 inmates. An updated online roster listed 191 people in custody yesterday.
Champaign County Prosecutor Kevin S. Talebi will handle any charges that may result from Piersol’s death, Phillips said. ..Source.. by Holly Zachariah
Tri-County inmate beaten in jail remains critical
4-8-2014 Ohio:
An inmate who was injured at the TriCounty Regional Jail in Mechanicsburg remains in critical but stable condition.
David Piersol, 39, was assaulted while in the general housing unit of the jail Saturday around 3:45 a.m.
Chief Deputy Rick Jordan of the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office says the Union County man suffered serious head trauma. He said it is unclear at this time why the fight began. Authorities are reviewing surveillance video and investigating.
Piersol was facing rape, gross sexual imposition and sexual battery charges. The victim is a 3-year-old girl. The alleged attack occured in October of 2013. Piersol was arrested in February and he was in jail awaiting trial.
Piersol was housed in a unit with 19 inmates at the time of the assault. The prosecutor’s office will review the case and determine if any charges should be filed. ..Source.. by Staff
Ohio man indicted for death of child-rape suspect beaten while in jail
URBANA, Ohio -- A grand jury has filed murder and other charges in the death of a central Ohio child-rape suspect who died several days after being hospitalized following a jail assault.
A report by the Champaign County Sheriff's Office said inmate David Piersol, 39, of Marysville, was the victim of an assault on April 5 at Tri-County Regional Jail in Mechanicsburg and died a few days later.
Zachary Butler, 24, of Richwood, who was in the jail at the time on charges of resisting arrest and drunken driving, was indicted Friday in Champaign County on charges of murder, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, reckless homicide and tampering with evidence.
Prosecutor Kevin Talebi said a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Butler, who is no longer in jail and whose whereabouts are unknown.
Jail personnel reportedly told Piersol's family that he went to bed following a fight about 2 a.m., and may have suffered a seizure that caused him to fall from his bunk and hit his head on furniture, the Dayton Daily News reported.
Piersol was charged in February with rape of a child, sexual battery and gross sexual imposition, according to The Columbus Dispatch. ..Source..
Inmate pleads guilty in case of child rape suspect who died after Ohio jail assault
URBANA, Ohio — A man has pleaded guilty in the death of a central Ohio child rape suspect who died after a jail assault.
A report by the Champaign County Sheriff's Office says inmate David Piersol was the victim of an assault on April 5 at Tri-County Regional Jail in Mechanicsburg and died a few days later.
Champaign County prosecutor Kevin Talebi (tuh-LEE'-bee) says defendant Zachary Butler, of Richwood, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of reckless homicide and one count of tampering with evidence.
Talebi says the tampering charge involves an accusation that the 24-year-old Butler traded blood-stained pants with another inmate.
While Butler's family has said other inmates forced him to attack Piersol, Talebi says no other charges are expected.
A message was left with Piersol's attorney. ..Source.. by The Republic
Ohio inmate gets 5 years in prison for beating of child-rape suspect who later died
URBANA, Ohio — A jail inmate who beat a child-rape suspect who died a few days later was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison.
Defendant Zachary Butler said he was forced to attack victim David Piersol by other inmates who threatened to stab Butler with sharpened pencils if he didn't carry out the assault as the new kid on the jail block.
He said he was told he had to "earn his tray," referring to jail food trays.
Butler also said other inmates physically attacked Piersol later in a jail bathroom, an allegation rejected by Champaign County Judge Nick Selvaggio for lack of evidence.
"You don't know with any certainty that other inmates were the ones that caused the blows to his head, do you?" the judge asked Butler.
"No, Sir," Butler said.
Prosecutor Kevin Talebi also said there was no evidence of such an attack, with evidence showing Butler struck Piersol "several times" in the head with his knee.
"What's clear is this defendant is the one who caused the death," Talebi said.
But the judge agreed that Butler acted under "strong provocation" because of the inmate threats against him.
Butler also was fined $1,500 and ordered to serve three years of probation after prison.
Butler said he was told to assault Piersol after other inmates harassed Piersol for several minutes, calling him a "child molester" who should be beaten up.
Defense attorney Chris Bucci argued for a halfway house-type sentence, saying Butler was extremely drunk at the time, was egged on and feared for his life.
A report by the Champaign County Sheriff's Office says Piersol was beaten on April 5 at Tri-County Regional Jail in Mechanicsburg and died a few days later. Piersol, of Marysville, was in jail after being charged with raping a young girl. Butler was in the jail on a drunken-driving charge.
Butler, 24, of Richwood, pleaded guilty last month to one count of reckless homicide and one count of tampering with evidence. The tampering charge involves an accusation that Butler traded blood-stained pants with another inmate.
Butler took responsibility for the assault on Piersol, saying he'd learned that "life is fragile," and he apologized to Piersol's family.
"I made bad decisions," he said. "I knew what I was doing."
The judge said Butler had shown remorse and was one of the few offenders he'd seen directly address a victim's family when apologizing.
But the judge said he couldn't overlook the seriousness of Butler's assault on Piersol, the fact it happened in a jail and the fact Butler didn't seek help for the victim afterward.
Piersol's sister, Gery Martin, told the judge the family hoped jail would help her brother overcome his struggles, including alcoholism.
She told Butler: "Our family is holding you accountable." ..Source.. by ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
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