A woman who previously worked as an officer at the Morris County Juvenile Detention Center in Morristown New Jersey pleaded guilty to hitting a teenager at the facility.

The suspect, a 32-year-old Newark woman, got into a verbal argument with a teenager at the juvenile detention facility in November 2016.

The suspect later claimed that the teenager spit at her. The suspect reportedly responded by violently attacking the victim. The suspect reportedly punched and kicked the teen girl while she was handcuffed and on the ground.

Detectives with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office investigated the incident and determined that “there was no justifiable need for force to be used” against the juvenile. The suspect was subsequently arrested and charged with simple assault.

The suspect ultimately avoided trial by reaching a plea agreement with Morris County NJ prosecutors. The plea deal called for her to be sentenced to one year of probation and consent to a ban that prohibits her from working in law enforcement in New Jersey.

When a minor is convicted of a juvenile crime in Morris County, New Jersey, they are often sent to the Morris County Juvenile Detention Center in Morristown, NJ. In this particular case, authorities have not stated what type of juvenile offense the teen victim might have committed prior to being sent to the detention facility.

For additional information about this case, read the NJ.com article, “No Jail for Juvenile Detention Officer Who Hit Handcuffed Teen, Report Says.”