By Associated Press - Saturday, January 7, 2017

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office has taken over an investigation into claims of sexual abuse of inmates at the Lackawanna County Prison in Scranton.

District Attorney Shane Scanlon tells The (Scranton) Times-Tribune (https://bit.ly/2i1YIRX ) he referred the case to the attorney general after determining his office had a potential conflict interest.

The criminal probe began in June in the wake of a civil suit alleging several current and former prison guards abused a female inmate. The suit was amended last month to add three more accusers. The amended suit also accuses employees of the DA’s office of concealing information from a grand jury that investigated abuse claims several years ago. Scanlon says he believes the amended suit creates a potential conflict for his office.

The county and prison are trying to get the civil suit dismissed.

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Information from: The Times-Tribune, https://thetimes-tribune.com/

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