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| Cleared PA Officer Gets Job Back |
| By The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review |
| Published: 02/06/2006 |
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In Pennsylvania, an Allegheny County Jail officer who last year was cleared of charges of sexually assaulting a female inmate has won reinstatement to his job plus $88,924 in back pay. Donald Stupka, 47, of Dormont, returned to work about three weeks ago after an arbitrator ruled in his favor to settle a union grievance, Warden Ramon Rustin said last week. Rustin said he tried to block Stupka's return, arguing there was evidence Stupka broke jail rules, even if it could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he had committed a crime. "We didn't want to set a precedent where an acquittal is grounds for an automatic reinstatement," Rustin said. An Allegheny County jury acquitted Stupka of one count of institutional sexual assault. It is illegal for an officer to have sex with an inmate. The evidence presented against Stupka at trial was weak, defense lawyer Mike Foglia said. One inmate had accused Stupka of acts alleged to have occurred five years earlier, and the officer vehemently proclaimed his innocence, Foglia said. "He is a nice man, and I'm glad he got his job back," Foglia said. Rustin rejected a grievance filed by the Allegheny County Prison Employees Union seeking Stupka's reinstatement, but the union appealed to the arbitrator. Terms of the repayment were finalized in January. |
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