1Former prison officer sentenced to 5 years for assaulting inmate at South Woods State Prison

BRIDGETON, NJ – A former senior corrections officer at South Woods State Prison has been sentenced to five years in state prison for attacking a 61-year-old inmate during an unprovoked encounter, according to Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae.

Cortlen S. Flax, 37, of Woodbury, was sentenced on Thursday following his conviction for second-degree official misconduct in connection with the assault of Julio Valdez of Jersey City. The sentencing followed a jury’s guilty verdict in July. A motion for a new trial was previously filed in September but was denied.

Prosecutors said Flax, who was working at South Woods State Prison at the time, entered Valdez’s cell and struck him on the l

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