Suit alleges attack in work release center

A former Shawano County inmate severely beaten by another inmate in 2020 alleged in a recently filed lawsuit that the county failed to protect him in violation of his constitutional rights.

According to documents filed in federal court, Trevor Gueller, 20, was serving 90 days in custody with work release privileges as a condition of probation in September 2020, when Keith D. Wilber, 27, allegedly attacked him in the lunch area and continued to beat him after dragging Gueller into the shower area.

While the lawsuit stated the attack occurred in the jail, the county, in its response to the suit, said Gueller was in the Huber Work Release Center at the time of the attack.

Both areas are visible on a video surveillance system; however, no correctional officers allegedly responded to halt the attack.

Gueller suffered a concussion, a broken jaw, a fractured eye socket and broken teeth, along with other physical injuries.

The suit alleged that during the past three years there had been many attacks on inmates by other inmates and the video surveillance system was installed to monitor common areas.

The purpose of the video system is to reveal if an inmate attack is about to occur which would allow guards to intervene to prevent injury, according to the suit, and if the common areas aren’t monitored, then a substantial risk that an inmate could be injured in an attack goes undetected.

In a phone interview April 13, Gueller’s attorney, Paul Kinne, of Madison, said his client’s injuries were severe and went undiscovered for two days, which may be another claim added to the suit.

Kinne said he hasn’t seen the video tape of the attack and that Gueller has “struggled to put a time frame,” on how long it lasted.

The suit also alleged that either the guards failed to monitor the areas where Gueller was attacked knowing that it subjected inmates to injury or viewed the attack but failed to respond to it. In either scenario, the county is liable for Gueller’s injuries and violated his constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment or guarantee of equal protection under law.

Kinne also said that the guards know that inmates can be a danger to one another and should be observed in person or on video.

“If they’re not watching the surveillance system, what good does it do to have one?” he said.

The county acknowledged that no guards observed the lunch or shower areas while Gueller was being attacked. However, it denied liability for Gueller’s injuries or that its policies violated his constitutional rights. It requested that the suit be dismissed.

Gueller was released from jail on Oct. 1, 2020. Wilber was transferred to Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun and has a May 25 court date before Shawano-Menominee Circuit Court Judge Katherine Sloma on misappropriation of identity, resisting arrest and other charges.

The suit only names the county as a defendant. It seeks unspecified damages for Gueller’s injuries, attorney fees and other costs.