5 Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office employees plead guilty

LAFAYETTE, La. – Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana Stephanie A. Finley announced today that three former and two current employees of the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office pleaded guilty to their roles in beating inmates at the Iberia Parish Jail.

Those pleading guilty before U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi today to one count of deprivation of civil rights are: Robert E. Burns, 46, Youngsville, La.; Byron Benjamin Lassalle, 34, Erath, La.; Wade Bergeron, 40, Milton, La.; Bret Klein Broussard, 35, Broussard, La.; and Wesley Hayes, 36, St. Martinville, La.  Additionally, Lassalle and Hayes pleaded guilty to one count of civil rights conspiracy. Lassalle and Broussard are currently employed by the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office. The other three defendants no longer work there.

Each of the defendants, except Burns, faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. Burns faces one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. They all face three years of supervised release.

The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, participated in the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph G. Jarzabek, and Special Litigation Counsel Mark Blumberg and Trial Attorney Tona Boyd of the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, are prosecuting the case.