WARREN — A Wattsburg man awaiting trial on child sexual assault charges is facing new charges after authorities allege he assaulted another inmate inside the Warren County Prison.
Richard L. Sweet, 53, was charged Wednesday with first-degree aggravated assault, second-degree assault by a prisoner, misdemeanor reckless endangerment and misdemeanor simple assault in connection with a July 7 incident at the jail, according to a Times Observer report.
Warren police responded to the prison after receiving a report of an inmate-on-inmate assault. Investigators said prison surveillance video showed Sweet filling a cup with boiling water used to prepare instant coffee or noodles before exchanging words with another inmate during breakfast. Police allege Sweet then intentionally threw the boiling water onto the other inmate’s face and upper chest.
Prison staff immediately intervened and escorted the injured inmate to the prison nurse for treatment. According to the affidavit, photographs taken afterward showed burns, blistering and redness to the victim’s face and chest.
A preliminary hearing on the new charges is scheduled for July 29 before Magisterial District Judge Raymond Zydonik.
Sweet has remained in the Warren County Prison since December after bail was set at $250,000 in two separate child sexual assault cases.
He is currently awaiting trial on multiple felony charges stemming from two criminal cases, including allegations of rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault of a child younger than 13, and corruption of minors. The alleged offenses date back to incidents beginning in December 2015.
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