A man who gave information that helped police file criminal charges in the 2000 "Baby Mary" case has filed a federal lawsuit against Fayette County officials, claiming he was labeled a "snitch" and beaten by jail guards.
Timothy M. Reckner, 36, of 119 Ball St., Uledi, a former inmate at the jail, alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court he suffered "slapping, striking, shoving, manhandling, twisting and punching" at the hands of guards between Aug. 17 and Sept. 2, 2009.
Reckner claimed he suffered multiple back and knee injuries when guards stuffed him into a dumbwaiter used to deliver food between floors in the jail.
In the suit, Reckner said guards and other inmates called him "snitch" or "Nancy Vernon's snitch" as a result of his information, which in 2008 helped lead to charges against the baby's mother, Sarah S. Hawk, and the baby's uncle, Warren E. Bircher.
The newborn was found in a backpack in a North Union creek by two fishermen in 2000.
Hawk pleaded guilty to third-degree murder for the death. Bircher was charged with first-degree murder for leaving the baby in the creek. He was acquitted last August.
Vernon, who is a judge, was the county's district attorney in 2009.
Reckner claims that guards threatened retaliation if he reported the assaults to authorities, and "the defendant corrections officers would tell their superiors that Reckner fell down, and nothing would happen to the corrections officers."
According to court records, Reckner was jailed on multiple charges of driving under the influence when the abuse allegedly occurred.
Reckner said the abuse violated his rights of due process and free speech, as well as his right against cruel and unusual punishment. He is seeking unspecified damages.
The lawsuit was filed against the county, its prison board, former warden Larry Medlock and guards Joseph Yeagley and Bruce McCombie.
Telephone calls to jail officials seeking comment on the lawsuit yesterday were not returned.
