A Bucks County prison guard and Northeast Philadelphia native was arrested and charged with sexually harassing inmates for a three-month period in 2013, officials said.
Joseph Mullen, a former officer at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in Doylestown, was accused of gawking at male inmates as they used the bathroom, forcing them to expose themselves, and on one occasion demanding three inmates played “patty-cake” and then hug, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. The 28-year-old graduate of Father Judge High School, who now resides in Feasterville, was charged Wednesday afternoon with oppression and harassment of inmates. A grand jury found Mullen used his power to manipulate convicts between July and September 2013. According to court documents, Mullen allegedly asked jailbirds if they would perform certain lewd sexual acts if given $1 million, and allegedly told three inmates caught watching TV in a cell that he would only let them go if they played “patty-cake” and then hugged. Mullen would subject them to strip searches, which were against policy, and if inmates refused he would toss their cells, according to court documents.
“This type of conduct will not be tolerated,” District Attorney David Heckler said in a statement.
Bucks County prison guard punished for playing ‘patty-cake’
Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
