A former deputy sheriff and Jail Corporal with the Camden County Sheriff’s Office was sentenced last week to serve time in prison for his role in the assault of a county jail inmate.
27-year-old Ryan Robert Biegel was sentenced to 16 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for assaulting a pretrial detainee, identified by the initials J.H.
Biegel, of Kingsland, Georgia, pleaded guilty before the Honorable Lisa G. Wood on January 28 to one count of using unreasonable force against the detainee.
According to the plea agreement, on September 3, 2022, Biegel and two other correctional officers entered a holding cell in which J.H. was being detained. Upon entering the cell, two other correctional officers restrained J.H.’s arms and pushed him against a wall. Biegel admitted that he punched J.H. five times in the back of the head, which he knew was not reasonable or necessary to accomplish a legitimate law enforcement purpose, and then struck J.H. in the head and body an additional twenty-two times with his fists and knees.
The Camden County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement:
The Camden County Sheriff’s Office has been informed that former Jail Corporal Ryan Biegel was sentenced in federal court to 16 months in prison following a civil rights violation stemming from a 2022 incident at the Camden County Jail.
Biegel, who is no longer employed with this agency, acted outside the values, policies, and
professional standards of the Sheriff’s Office. His actions do not reflect the integrity or mission
of this agency
As the matter was handled at the federal level, all official information should be directed to the
U.S. Department of Justice.
“The safety of our staff, inmates, and the public is our top priority,” said Sheriff Kevin Chaney. “Accountability applies to everyone—including law enforcement. We remain committed to
transparency and upholding the public’s trust.”
The FBI Brunswick RA Field Office investigated the matter along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer J. Kirkland for the Southern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Alec Ward of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.
