An officer at a Florida juvenile detention center is facing federal charges after a 17-year-old died in a beating by other inmates that was encouraged by the officer.
An indictment unsealed Monday accuses Antwan Lenard Johnson of conspiracy and deprivation of the teenager's rights under color of law. Johnson was due in court later Monday. It wasn't immediately clear if he has a lawyer.
The indictment claims the 35-year-old Johnson used a bounty system and rewards so inmates at the Miami-Dade Regional Juvenile Detention Center would use violence to punish bad behavior by other inmates.
The 17-year-old who died, identified only as "E.R." in court documents, was assaulted by other juveniles in August 2015 because of unspecified "statements and behavior."
The inmate rewards included extra recreation time and snacks.
"The Justice Department will continue to aggressively prosecute corrections officers who exploit their position of power and violate the civil rights of individuals in their custody," Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
