A former Carbon County prison guard who was charged with punching an inmate entered a guilty plea on Monday in the county court.

Gerard Anthony Babb Jr., 31, of Schnecksville, pleaded to one count of official oppression, a misdemeanor 2.

He was charged for an incident at the prison that occurred on Feb. 7.

Carbon County Detective Timothy Nothstein filed the charges.

According to the affidavit, Nothstein received information on the February incident at the correctional facility in Nesquehoning on March 12. The information was that two corrections officers, one identified as Babb, punched, choked and sprayed an inmate while he was restrained.

Surveillance footage showed that at 5:38 p.m., the victim was strapped into a restraint chair in the multipurpose room at the facility and was trying to move or wiggle over to a bunk bed. The inmate was successful in moving close enough to the bed to pull it.

Two minutes later, Babb and the other corrections officer are seen trying to remove the victim’s grip from the bed, but the inmate was resisting. Eventually, they move the inmate, still restrained in the chair, to the center of the room.

Nothstein said it is during this time that Babb punches the victim in the face twice and then begins to choke him. He then leaves and returns one minute later, shaking a canister before spraying the victim in the face.

Two minutes later, the other corrections officer returns to the room and tips the chair that the victim is restrained to and lays it on its back with the victim now facing the ceiling. He then returns and picks up the chair and victim, surveillance footage shows.

On March 18, Nothstein interviewed the victim, who said that he had tried to head butt Babb while in the restraint chair when he was being moved, the affidavit states. On March 23, Nothstein interviewed the other suspended corrections officer, who admitted that the incident occurred, but said that he wasn’t sure why Babb punched, choked or sprayed the victim.

The second officer in the incident said that he only laid the chair down because Babb told him to do so and then returned to right the chair after another corrections officer told him what Babb told him to do was wrong. He also said that he provided aid to the victim and Babb did not help.

On March 24, the sergeant who was on duty the night of the incident was interviewed and confirmed the story.

Babb resigned his position with the county after the incident occurred.

Then-Warden Timothy Fritz, who was also suspended March 17 with Babb and the other corrections officer, eventually was fired.

Defense counsel attorney Matthew J. Rapa said his client was a corrections officer for eight years and had one minor incident in that time.

He told the court, “He lost his cool.”

He said Babb had been working many back-to-back shifts due to the lack of manpower because of the COVID-19 crisis.

Babb told Nanovic, “I’m ashamed for my actions.”

Nanovic placed him on probation for a year and ordered he attend and successfully complete an anger management course. Rapa told the court his client has already completed the course. He must also pay court costs of about $1,000 and pay a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation.