Comment on Deputy in inmate fights faced 2006 complaints

Background details of 2006 sexual assault allegations against San Francisco sheriff’s Deputy Scott Neu, who reportedly forced County Jail inmates to fight each other for entertainment, are eerily similar to what was reported Thursday. The bullying behavior, the offers of cheeseburgers for silence, the threats of violence, the rumors of other deputies knowing what was going on, but doing nothing — the accusations sound almost the same. Though three inmates came forward in 2006 to accuse Neu of forcing them to perform sexual acts on him, the case was handled internally and he was never prosecuted — and possibly never criminally investigated — raising questions as to why criminal misconduct was not criminally investigated. [...] he is accused of forcing inmates into gladiator-style fights, according to reports from inmates gathered by the city public defender’s office. The three inmates, a woman and two men transitioning to women, said in the sexual assault filings that in 2005 and 2006 Neu would force them to orally copulate him, kiss him and show him their genitals. [...] Mark Nicco, assistant legal counsel for the Sheriff’s Department, said that before the 2014 establishment of the criminal investigations unit, the sheriff’s internal affairs unit handled all reports of deputy misconduct. The district attorney’s office said Neu was never prosecuted nor arrested for the sexual assault allegations. The city public defender Thursday released reports from inmates that Neu had been forcing them to fight each other so he and other deputies could gamble on the outcome.