A former Elayn Hunt Correctional Center guard admitted this week that he assaulted two handcuffed inmates at the St. Gabriel prison and failed to stop other guards from doing the same to one of the prisoners, federal authorities said Friday.

Ex-Master Sgt. Adrian Almodovar III, 39, pleaded guilty Thursday in Baton Rouge federal court to willfully depriving the inmates of their right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.

Almodovar admitted punching inmate John Harold multiple times in the face on Jan. 9, 2017, and also punching inmate Lonnie Bryant in the head later that day.

Two other former Hunt guards, ex-Lt. Eric Norwood and ex-Capt. Charles Philson, previously pleaded guilty for the roles in the assaults on Harold, federal prosecutors said.

+2 Eight guards at Elayn Hunt prison forced from jobs over inmate beating Eight Louisiana correctional officers were fired amidst a federal investigation into a July 9 beating of an inmate in his cell at Elayn Hunt C…

U.S. Attorney Brandon Fremin, of Baton Rouge, said Almodovar "dishonored himself and the countless honorable corrections officers who undertake difficult and dangerous work in our penal institutions every day."

FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Eric Rommal likewise said Almodovar “abused defenseless inmates, discredited our justice system, and tarnished the image of countless good officers.”

“The Justice Department will hold correctional officers accountable to the public by investigating and prosecuting officers who inflict cruel and unusual punishment,” Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband pledged.

In addition to assaulting Harold and Bryant, Almodovar admitted that he witnessed other correctional officers assaulting Harold on two separate occasions but did not intervene to stop them.

Almodovar’s indictment, which was handed down in October, alleged that he and other members of Hunt’s tactical team assaulted a handcuffed and shackled inmate while removing him from his cell, while transporting him to the medical unit, and while he was inside the unit.

Almodovar faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Almodovar, Norwood, Philson and five other correctional officers were fired amid the federal probe into the beatings.

Hunt Correctional Center is the state’s second-largest prison, after the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. It can hold 1,875 inmates.