Night falls on the Allegheny County Jail, Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Uptown.(Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)

By Ember Duke, PublicSource

A sergeant at the Allegheny County Jail whose record of alleged misconduct was the focus of a recent PublicSource investigation has been named in another lawsuit claiming physical, sexual and racially motivated abuse. 

The suit, filed today in federal court, names Sgt. Hunter Sarver as “the main perpetrator” of an alleged assault involving multiple correctional officers in July 2023. Sarver, the focus of PublicSource’s May investigation, was named alongside two other sergeants, seven correctional officers and three jail wardens.

The case was brought by Kush Wilkerson, a pre-trial detainee at the jail, who claims he was repeatedly tased by Sarver, including in his genital area when he was handcuffed and on the ground. 

“It’s something that will be with me for the rest of my life. I feel the effects of what happened to me both physically and mentally every day,” Wilkerson said, according to a press release from The Abolitionist Law Center, which is representing him. 

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Ember Duke is a recent graduate of Duquesne University and one of 10 Pittsburgh Media Partnership summer interns.