Theophilus Osabutey of Laconia, a former correctional officer, was convicted on simple assault charges in New Hampshire, Attorney General John Formella said Thursday in a press release.

Osabutey, 41, was convicted of simple assault, a class A misdemeanor, stemming from an altercation with an inmate at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men, where Osabutey was employed as a correctional officer.

Osabutey received a 12-month suspended sentence in the House of Corrections following a fully-negotiated plea deal. He is also ordered to complete 50 hours of community service and to complete an anger management evaluation and any treatment recommended thereafter. 

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Osabutey surrendered his correctional officer certification and is barred from seeking employment in either law enforcement or corrections in the future. 

Osabutey also agreed to not contest his placement on a national registry of decertified officers or on the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Exculpatory Evidence Schedule. 

If Osabutey violates any of the terms agreed to in his plea within the next two years, he could be ordered to serve the entire 12 months in prison. 

The criminal complaint alleges that on Nov. 4, 2022, Osabutey “did knowingly cause unprivileged contact to another, E.S., by striking E.S. on or about his head, face, and/or body at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men, when the defendant was at the time an on-duty law enforcement officer with the New Hampshire Department of Corrections and E.S. was an inmate at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men.”

The indictment was sworn Jan. 31.

“This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit, with the assistance of the New Hampshire Department of Corrections,” Formella wrote in a press release. “The Public Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes allegations of criminal conduct committed by state officials and law enforcement officers in the State of New Hampshire.”