As federal marshals tried to put his hands in cuffs behind his back, Seth Bunke leaned his 6-foot, 6-inch frame forward onto the defense table in U.S. District Court yesterday and began to sob.

"I didn't do it," he said. "I didn't do it."

A former Lucas County corrections officer, Bunke was found guilty in Toledo yesterday of three counts of violating civil rights.

Bunke, 26, of Jacksonville, N.C., was convicted of assaulting two inmates who were in custody at the jail and of portraying himself as a police officer when he stopped a driver he suspected of drunken driving.

A jury of 11 women and two men deliberated about 2 1/2 hours before returning the verdicts, which included acquittals on two additional charges.

When sentenced, Bunke faces up to 12 years in prison.

His sentencing has not been scheduled.

Over the course of a five-day trial - which included testimony from 12 law enforcement and corrections officers - federal prosecutors outlined a pattern of abuse of power. They told jurors that on four occasions between September, 2006, and July, 2007, while Bunke was employed at the jail, the former corrections officer assaulted inmates.

In another incident, the jail employee claimed to be a police officer when he pulled over two men whom he apparently suspected of drunken driving, they said.

Bunke was found guilty of using excessive force on inmates Jason Pope on May 6, 2007, and Jeffrey Jones on July 11, 2007.

Because of the injuries sustained by Jones, the conviction carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.

The remaining charges call for a maximum of one year each in prison.

Witnesses testified that the assault on Jones involved several kicks in the head and side and was brought on after Jones began struggling with officers during a strip search.

Jones, who was incarcerated on a probation violation on a drug charge, was hospitalized for several days after the incident with a collapsed lung. He has since sued Bunke, the county, and the sheriff's office.

During closing arguments, Kristy Parker, a prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, called Bunke a "man who brought disgrace on his profession." She refuted the defense's argument that Bunke was responding to situations in the volatile environment of the jail in the manner in which he was trained to do.

"This case has nothing to do with split-second decisions. Everything in this case is calculated," she said.

Federal prosecutors referred comments to a spokesman in Washington who could not be reached for comment.

Ms. Parker asked jurors to weigh the credibility and honesty of the corrections officers who testified versus Bunke's versions of events. She asked them to consider whether the force Bunke used on inmates at the jail was "legitimate to protect himself and other officers, or was it excessive and unnecessary."

During closing arguments, defense attorney Rick Kerger described the scene on July 11, 2007 - when Jones was struggling with several officers - as a "melee." He said despite Jones telling what happened to him to hospital staff on the day of the incident and to an FBI agent soon afterward, he "never ever, ever said he was kicked."

After the verdict, Mr. Kerger said he disagreed with it but respected the jury's decision. He said the mix of both guilty and not-guilty verdicts showed it was "obvious that they thought about it."

Mr. Kerger said he will file a motion for a new trial in regards to the count involving Jones. Because the count involving that incident carried the most prison time, it would likely be "the focus of the sentencing," he said.

"It's possible that the jurors decided that the kneeing in the side was enough," Mr. Kerger said. Bunke testified that he did not kick Jones but did knee him in an attempt to subdue him.

Sheriff James Telb, who was called by the defense to testify, was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Bunke, a Marine Corps veteran, resigned from the sheriff's office in July, 2007, just days after the incident involving Jones. He has since moved to North Carolina but returned to Toledo in February when he was arrested. According to court documents, his military service was not entered into evidence because he was discharged for "a pattern of misconduct."

As a corrections officer, Mr. Bunke was paid a salary of $27,000.

Charges are pending against two other men in the July 11 incident involving Jones.

Sheriff's Deputy Joel McConnell, 28, and James Kotlarcyk, 44, a corrections officer, face one count each of conspiracy and falsification of records for allegedly falsifying reports of the incident. Mr. Kotlarcyk and Deputy McConnell, currently employed at the sheriff's office, are to go on trial Dec. 9.

Judge Jack Zouhary ordered Bunke into custody until his sentencing, but asked that he not be taken to the Lucas County jail. Mr. Kerger said Bunke will be housed in the federal prison in Milan, Mich.

Bunke's family, including his newborn son, were in the courtroom when the verdict was read. Mr. Kerger said they declined to comment.

Contact Erica Blake at:

eblake@theblade.com

or 419-213-2134.

First Published October 15, 2008, 10:15 a.m.