Guard Made Inmates Play Patty-Cake, Hug: DA

Joseph Mullen charged with harassment
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 8, 2015 12:55 PM CST
Guard Made Inmates Play Patty-Cake, Hug: DA
Bucks County prison guard Joseph Mullen is charged with harassing inmates.   (Bucks County District Attorney's Office)

A Pennsylvania prison guard could find himself behind bars after prosecutors say he made rather bizarre requests of inmates. Prosecutors say Joseph Mullen, 28, told inmates at Bucks County Correctional Facility on numerous occasions he would let them out of their cells early if they exposed themselves. Another time, prosecutors say Mullen told a prisoner he "wanted to watch him 'take a s---,'" the Philadelphia Daily News reports. The case gets stranger still. Mullen is also accused of locking three men in a cell when he caught them watching TV. He allegedly vowed to release them only if they "played the child's game 'patty-cake' with each other" and hugged, according to court documents.

Mullen, charged yesterday with official oppression and harassment after a grand jury investigation, was released on $75,000 unsecured bail. Current and former inmates told the grand jury Mullen made inappropriate comments when they used the bathroom, ordered prisoners to touch each other, and often performed strip searches. Most said they didn't report the behavior for fear of retaliation and because the incidents were "extremely embarrassing," the Morning Call reports. A prison guard once partnered with Mullen testified that she didn't feel safe with him due to his "propensity to have conversations with inmates about sexual topics and while they were using the bathroom." (More prison guard stories.)

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