Inmate assaults officer at Mount Pleasant prison

DES MOINES - A correctional officer was assaulted by an inmate at the state prison in Mount Pleasant, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Corrections said Tuesday.

Fred Scaletta, spokesman for the department, said Darrell Ballard, 24, an offender serving time for a sex-offense conviction, assaulted the officer after the staff member directed Ballard to put down a food item that he had received inappropriately. The incident on Sunday at about 6:40 a.m. prompted prison staff to activate an emergency alarm due to a disturbance in Living Unit 3B of the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility, he said.

The alleged assault included several punches to the torso and to the facial area. causing injuries to the staff member, Scaletta said in a news release. The prison staff member was treated by medical personnel at the facility, he added.

'The department considers this incident a very serious assault, although the injuries are not life threatening,” according to Scaletta's statement. Due to the pending investigation, the officer's name or additional information was not being released publicly, said Scaletta, who added that the incident likely would be referred to the Henry County Attorney's Office for prosecution.

Ballard was incarcerated for a sex offense conviction from Cerro Gordo County, as well as serving time for revocation on his special sex offense sentence, Scaletta said in his statement.