A former correctional officer is facing a possible custodial sentence after admitting to assaulting an inmate who called her a bitch.

Brooke Klima and three other correctional officers at the Winnipeg Remand Centre were fired after an investigation revealed Klima had berated and assaulted the victim in a staff room, Aug. 30, 2012.

Klima "placed (the victim) in a vulnerable position and demeaned and belittled him in front of the other officers," Crown attorney Mark Kantor said at a sentencing hearing Monday.

The victim, who suffers from bipolar disorder and was lodged on a floor reserved for special needs inmates, "was utterly defenceless," Kantor said. "There was a marked power imbalance in the room."

Kantor is recommending Klima, 32, be sentenced to four months house arrest, while defence lawyer Jay Prober urged Judge Rocky Pollack to grant her a conditional discharge.

Court heard the victim had just returned to the remand centre after an appearance in court when Klima notified him he was being transferred to Headingley Correctional Centre. When the victim inquired if he would be able to bring his Nicorette lozenges with him, Klima "yelled at him she had thousands of other requests to deal with and chastised him for being worried about some lozenges," Kantor said.

The victim had returned to his cell when Klima activated the jail's intercom system and overheard him telling his cellmates she was "being a bitch" and a "c..."

Minutes later, Klima arranged for the victim to be buzzed out of his cell and taken to a staff room. Klima and four other correction officers were waiting inside.

"Ms. Klima began to yell at (the victim), demanding him to 'call (her) a bitch now,'" Kantor said.

Klima continued to goad the victim and one of the officers told him "to speak when you are spoken to."

The victim uttered the word Klima wanted to hear, "not aggressively, (but) because he was scared," Kantor said.

Klima put on a pair of latex gloves and then slapped and punched the victim's head several times. Security video showed the victim being led out of the staff room minutes later in handcuffs.

Administrators at the jail launched an investigation after receiving an anonymous letter from another inmate.

The victim told court he now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has recurring nightmares of the attack.

"I didn't move or defend myself as I was petrified to look up to see Brooke or any of the other guards for fear of death," he said. "I question myself: How many other people at the remand centre have had their constitutional rights broken like mine?"

Kantor said provocation should not be considered a factor in the assault, noting the victim's comments were made in front of his cellmates, not Klima. "This is something, unfortunately, that correction officers experience on a daily basis from inmates," Kantor said.

Prober disagreed. "I don't know that you have to call somebody a f...... bitch or a c... to their face for there to be provocation," he said.

Prober disputed the claim Klima punched the victim with a closed fist, telling court she pleaded guilty only to "striking" him.

"Whether it was a tap, a slap or a punch, he was struck, there is no question about that and that is why she pleaded guilty," Prober said.

Prober said Klima only intended to confront the victim, not assault him. "That was on the spur of the moment, without premeditation," he said.

A pre-sentence report assessed Klima as a very low risk to reoffend. Reference letters submitted to court described her as friendly, hard-working and intelligent.

A doctor's report said Klima at the time was suffering PTSD, depression and anxiety following her involvement in a prisoner escape incident.

Pollack will sentence Klima at a later date.

dean.pritchard@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @deanatwpgsun