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Prison inmate gets life sentence for sex assault on female guard
By
Schuyler Kropf
The Post
and Courier
Saturday, January 31, 2009
MONCKS
CORNER — A state prison inmate will serve the rest of his life behind bars for
sexually assaulting a female corrections officer last year.
One
remarkable part of his trial: some of his fellow inmates who rescued the guard
testified against him.
George
Salisbury was serving 15 years for sexually assaulting a minor when he was able
to corner a female officer at the MacDougall Correctional Institution near
Ridgeville after midnight one night last January.
The woman
was in a guard office area where she could watch the inmates when Salisbury
gained entry, shut the doors and started to drag her away. He also held a
homemade weapon — made of a toothbrush and decking nail — on her.
As the
attack was going on and the officer screamed for help, at least three other
inmates in the dormitory broke into the locked control room area to help the
officer and subdue the man.
Ninth
Circuit Deputy Solicitor Bryan Alfaro said the inmates broke windows and removed
a door to get to the attacker, and helped carry the guard away to protect her.
"It
really could have gotten horribly bad," Alfaro said.
Two of
the inmates testified against Salisbury during his trial this week inside the
Berkeley County Courthouse. Their contribution was significant because "it
corroborated her version of events," Alfaro said.
The guard
had worked at the prison for several years but was new to that unit, covering
for another employee.
Salisbury
started serving a 15-year sentence in March 2001 for criminal sexual conduct
with a minor, a crime that was committed in Berkeley County. He was found guilty
of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, assault on a correctional officer, and
taking of a hostage by an inmate. He was sentenced to life without parole by
Circuit Judge Kristi Harrington. The life sentence won't kick in until after the
assault on the minor sentence ends, around 2015.
The lead
prosecutor in the case was Assistant Solicitor Anne Williams.
Reach
Schuyler Kropf at
937-5551, or
skropf@postandcourier.com.
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