An Ohio jail guard who called Immigration and Customs Enforcement inmates “illegals” assaulted a detainee, a new lawsuit claims.
Luis Tenelanda, a former ICE inmate at the Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio, sued the county, sheriff and an officer on May 18 for violating his civil rights. The jail, led by Sheriff Richard Jones ‒ an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump and immigration enforcement ‒ has detained inmates for ICE since March 2025.
In the lawsuit, Tenelanda, who is from Ecuador and has since been deported, accused Sgt. Corneal Rowe of attacking him on June 8, 2025.
This is the second lawsuit brought against the county for allegations of mistreatment against ICE inmates at the jail.
The Enquirer left voicemails for Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer, jail spokesperson Sgt. Kim Peters and Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser, but did not receive responses prior to publication.
Suit says guard called inmates ‘illegals,’ ‘savages’
In the lawsuit, Tenelanda said he was watching TV in his jail cell when other detainees began asking guards why they weren’t being allowed outside their cells for their usual break. Tenelanda joined the other detainees in asking the guards, but they did not get a response.
Instead, Rowe yelled at Tenelanda, the lawsuit alleges. Other detainees said the sergeant called them and Tenelanda “illegals,” a “Mexican son of a bitch” and “savages,” according to the lawsuit that was filed in the Southern District of Ohio.
Rowe entered Tenelanda’s cell and punched him in the stomach, causing the detained man to fall and hit his head and arm on his metal bed, the suit says. Tenelanda lost consciousness, and medical personnel arrived to inspect him 40 minutes to an hour later.
Tenelanda received medical attention but was told to go back to his cell, despite saying he was feeling nauseous, the lawsuit states. He later realized his arm was bleeding. Tenelanda went to sleep, woke up at 3 a.m. and began vomiting blood.
He was taken to a hospital the next day, where doctors said his stomach was inflamed. Tenelanda said he still can’t bend or lift his arm, which makes bathing and dressing difficult.
While in custody at the jail, Tenelanda said he called a phone number to report the ICE abuse, but no one answered. The Enquirer emailed an ICE spokesperson and asked if that phone number is operational, but did not receive a response prior to publication.
Tenelanda said he also used a machine at the jail to try to obtain his medical records, but the machine did not work.
It’s unclear whether Rowe was reprimanded after the incident. The Enquirer has requested his personnel file and any related incident reports and security footage.
Tenelanda: ‘We Hispanics are not criminals’
In a statement released via the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, an immigrant advocate group, Tenelanda said he worked for a company in Dayton that built schools, police and fire stations, and hotels before he was detained and deported.
“Tell them that we Hispanics are not criminals like they call us and treat us,” he said. “I worked in all of those places until my last day, paying my taxes every year. And it’s not fair that they treat us like this.”
Tenelanda said because of his shoulder pain, he can’t work or lift heavy objects.
“I know that not all police officers are bad or racist, but that day it was my bad luck that this officer appeared and struck me, and fractured my left shoulder for the rest of my life,” he said. “I hope we achieve justice for all of the mistreatment we received in that jail in Hamilton, Ohio.”
This story may be updated.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Lawsuit says Butler County Jail guard assaulted ICE detainee
Reporting by Victoria Moorwood, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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