FLEMINGTON, N.J. (AP) - A former corrections officer has been acquitted on charges connected to a sexual assault scandal at New Jersey’s only women’s prison.
Brian Ambroise was acquitted by a jury Friday at a Superior Court trial in Hunterdon County for charges including official misconduct and conspiracy to commit sexual assault.
Ambroise was accused of allowing two inmates into an area of Edna Mahan Correctional Facility where officer Ronald Coleman is accused of sexually assaulting them.
Coleman, will be tried in May. Under state law, inmates cannot legally consent to sexual contact with staff.
Ambroise, 36, was one of seven employees charged, and the only acquitted.
Of the remaining employees, four accepted plea deals and one was convicted at trial.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections said there will be an internal review process before Ambroise is reinstated.
James Wronko, Ambroise’s attorney, says his client is looking forward to returning to work after three and a half years of unpaid leave.
Wronko said Ambroise may have to sue for the wages he missed out on.
Ambroise was also found not guilty of accusations of sexual assault in November 2018.
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