Ex-Franklin County jail deputy charged with revealing inmate's charges, allowing assault

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A 27-year-old ex-Franklin County deputy who worked at the Corrections Center faces federal charges for allegedly disclosing an inmate's charges that led to the inmate being assaulted.

Grove City native Matthew Carey faces three civil rights-related charges after being arrested Tuesday in connection to a 2022 incident, according to the U.S. Court of the Southern District of Ohio. Court documents said that in March 2022 Carey intentionally told another detainee about an inmate that had pending sex offense charges.

The indictment claims that Carey knew that people charged with sex offenses had a higher risk of being assaulted in jail by other inmates. The detainee allegedly took Carey's words as a sign to attack the inmate, setting in motion an assault of the inmate that Carey did not try to prevent.

Carey faces a conspiracy charge, one related to depriving the inmate of being free from unreasonable force, and to be free from an indifference of a deputy to a risk of physical harm. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.