A suspended Pennsylvania state prison guard accused of forcing an inmate to perform sex acts on him has pleaded no contest.
Marlin E. Freeman, 54, entered the plea in Centre County court on Thursday.
Freeman was arrested in January and charged with institutional sexual assault after authorities said he forced an inmate at Rockview state prison to perform sex acts in the prison chapel between 2009 and 2012.
State police say Freeman threatened to take away the inmate's janitorial job or have him placed in solitary confinement if he didn't comply.
The inmate, who has been incarcerated since 1984, is serving a life sentence on murder charges. He was at Rockview state prison from 2003 until the time he made the accusations, the Centre Daily Times reports.
The lawsuit, which was filed in November, claims the inmate found the courage to report the abuse in March 2011, writing letters to two registered nurses and a health care administrator employed by the Department of Corrections, according to the paper.
Freeman faces up to seven years in prison. He will be sentenced June 6. He is suspended without pay and will likely lose his job after he is sentenced.
The inmate is seeking a civil jury trial and is seeking punitive damages and interest, according to the Centre Daily.
