Local News in Brief : Sheriff’s Deputy Charged
A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who allegedly encouraged the beating of a rape suspect by other inmates was charged Wednesday with two misdemeanors.
Deputy Theron Wiggins was charged by the district attorney’s office with inciting a riot and mistreating a prisoner in February at the Lynwood sheriff’s station.
According to Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Healy, Wiggins confronted a 44-year-old man, who had been arrested in connection with the rape of a 15-year-old girl, while he was held in a jail cell with 11 other men.
Wiggins allegedly accused the man of rape and told him not to call for help if his cellmates attacked him. Three of the man’s cellmates did just that.
The man was rescued by another deputy and escaped with minor injuries. He was later released without any charges being filed.
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