A Butler man was sentenced Tuesday, Nov. 28, in Butler County Common Pleas Court to serve as many as seven years in state prison for taking part in the assault of a fellow inmate in the county jail last year.

Keith Paul Reges, 36, was sentenced to three to seven years in prison for his role in a June 25 assault of an inmate who sustained two black eyes and cuts on his face in the attack at the Butler County Prison. Reges pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assault by a prisoner on another that was filed by county detectives.

That sentence runs concurrently with a 12-to-48-month prison sentence he was given after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of simple assault filed by state police following an April 25, 2022, incident in Oakland Township.

In the inmate assault case, co-defendant Michael Paul Reinhart, 49, of Wayne was sentenced to six to 15 years in prison in May after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of aggravated assault.

According to affidavits, a security camera recorded video footage of the assault around 3:36 p.m. in the jail’s multipurpose room.

The video shows an inmate cutting the hair of another inmate with an electric clipper while another inmate is sitting at a table waiting for a haircut. Detectives said Reinhart and Reges enter the room with a third man, who was not charged because he did not participate in the assault.

Reinhart motioned for the inmate waiting for a haircut to leave, according to the affidavits.

Detectives said the inmate who was cutting hair looked over his shoulder and noticed the three other inmates, but did not engage with them and turned back to his work.

Reinhart then approached the inmate cutting hair from behind and hit him on the right side of the head, detectives said.

Detectives said Reinhart threw about 33 punches and kicked him twice, and Reges struck the victim more than 15 times, kicked him several times and held the victim on the floor in a strangulation hold while Reinhart struck him, detectives said.

According to detectives, the video shows a corrections officer discovering the assault, spraying pepper spray into the room and then retreating to get backup.

As the beaten inmate was on the floor, Reinhart kicked him in the face, which appeared to knock him unconscious, detectives said.

Multiple corrections officers then arrived and retrieved the beaten inmate and secured the other inmates.

Judge Kelley Streib sentenced Reges.