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CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) – A jury finds a corrections officer guilty of raping an inmate.

The jury deliberated only a few hours Thursday before deciding James Belle, 32, was guilty of making a male inmate, 24, perform a sex act on him in a cell.

That attack happened in March at the Cleveland House of Corrections in Highland Heights.

Belle will be sentenced on November 3rd at 8:30 a-m.

Belle has been suspended without pay.

We have an exclusive interview with the jail house victim.

The 24-year-old man spent four days in the Cleveland House of Corrections for a minor crime.

“I was sleeping just relaxing trying to get through the day,” said the victim.

But he says what happened to him while he was there was major.

“Well he know what he did, God knows what he did and he know what he did,” said the victim.

The victim says prior to the assault the corrections officer entered his room several times and he says there is proof. It was caught on tape.

“Yes it was plenty of surveillance . They see how time lapsed every time he came into my room Every time he came in and every time he left. They know what he did to me,” said the victim.

The young man says he told the folks at the facility but they didn’t take the accusation seriously but Highland Hills police did. They transported him to a local hospital where a rape kit was performed.

The victim says the guards are there to protect you and this should not have happened.

“It’s been a living hell facing each and everyday each and everyday and what he did to me I can’t sleep,” said the victim.

Belle is also accused of raping a woman he met on a phone chat line in Maple Heights.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason says the attack on the female happened while Belle was under investigation for the sexual assault at the jail.

That case is still pending.

http://www.19actionnews.com/story/14575561/verdict-corrections-officer-guilty-of-raping-inmate

Article Courtesy of WOIO 19 Action News