HAMILTON, Ohio — A former immigration detainee has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones and a county jail sergeant, alleging he was physically assaulted while in custody, denied prompt medical care and subjected to discriminatory treatment at the Butler County Jail.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, centers on a June 2025 incident involving Luis Tenelanda, an Ecuadorian native who was being held at the Butler County Jail on immigration-related civil detention. The complaint alleges that Sgt. Corneal Rowe used excessive force during an altercation inside a jail housing unit and alleges county officials failed to properly supervise staff or prevent a pattern of abuse inside the facility.
The filing also names Butler County and Jones as defendants, arguing the county maintained policies or practices that allowed detainees’ constitutional rights to be violated. Tenelanda is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial.
WATCH: Former Butler County ICE detainee alleges assault, discrimination in lawsuit
Lynn Tramonte, executive director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, said Tenelanda had lived in the United States for decades and worked in construction projects that included schools, fire stations and police facilities.
“He was very proud of his work in this country,” Tramonte said. “He had good relationships with the police. He was really sad to be mistreated by another officer.”
Tramonte said Tenelanda can no longer perform physical labor because of ongoing shoulder injuries he alleges resulted from the incident.
“He still cannot use his arm, he cannot work, he cannot provide for his family,” she said.
The Butler County Sheriff’s Office denied the allegations in a brief statement released after the lawsuit became public.
“Because this matter involves active litigation, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office will not comment beyond denying what’s alleged in the lawsuit,” the statement said.
Jones said the sheriff’s office remains committed to the “safe, secure, and professional operation” of the jail and expressed continued support for employees.
According to the complaint, the incident occurred June 8, 2025, during a period when detainees were requesting access to a scheduled recreation period. Tenelanda alleges detainees had remained locked in their cells for an extended period and began asking correctional staff about recreation time during a guard shift change.
The lawsuit claims Rowe became angry when detainees continued asking questions and allegedly responded with insults and threats. Tenelanda alleges Rowe used anti-immigrant and ethnic slurs while speaking to detainees, including remarks referring to them as “undocumented Hispanics.”
Other detainees from other cells recall Rowe calling Tenelanda and his cellmates names such as “illegals,” “Mexican son of a b—h,” and “savages," according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges that after tensions escalated verbally, Rowe entered Tenelanda’s cell and continued to yell at him. The lawsuit said Tenelanda could not understand Rowe's commands but thought he was being ordered to his bed. When he moved toward the bed, Rowe punched him hard in the stomach, causing him to fall back, hit his head and arm on the metal bar and pass out.
The complaint further alleges jail personnel failed to provide timely medical attention after the incident. Tenelanda says he remained on the ground for an extended period before receiving treatment and claims medical staff delayed responding between 40 minutes and an hour.
The lawsuit says Tenelanda later began experiencing dizziness, nausea and episodes of vomiting blood. According to the filing, he was not transported to an outside hospital until two days later.
Tenelanda's attorneys said that jail officials failed to properly document the use-of-force incident. Gabriel Davis, executive director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center and a lawyer on the case, said federal detention standards require immediate medical care and written reporting whenever force is used against detainees.
“Sergeant Rowe violated every one of those requirements,” Davis said.
The complaint alleges Tenelanda continued requesting medical records and hospital paperwork after his release but was unable to obtain them from jail officials. Tenelanda's attorneys argue the lack of documentation hindered his ability to seek follow-up treatment and fully understand the extent of his injuries.
"Tell them that we Hispanics are not criminals like they call us and treat us. I was working for a very prestigious company in Dayton, Ohio, that builds schools, buildings for police and firemen, and hotels. I worked in all of those places until my last day, paying my taxes every year. And it’s not fair that they treat us like this," Tenelanda said in a statement. "I know that not all police officers are bad or racist, but that day it was my bad luck that this officer appeared and struck me, and fractured my left shoulder for the rest of my life."
Davis said the lawsuit seeks not only financial damages but also a formal court declaration that Butler County and Jones maintained a “custom, policy, and practice” of failing to properly supervise and train jail staff.
“This is about more than just one sergeant’s actions,” Davis said. “It’s about a culture of abuse and inhumane treatment.”
The Butler County Jail has previously faced criticism from immigration advocates and civil rights organizations over detainee treatment and conditions. The lawsuit references prior allegations involving excessive force and claims county officials failed to take corrective action.
Attorneys pointed to two pending federal lawsuits — Bayang v. County of Butler and Bente v. Butler County — involving other allegations of racist assaults and excessive force against detainees in the facility.
Both cases remain in the discovery phase in federal court.
Tramonte alleged that advocacy groups have received complaints through a hotline from detainees describing inadequate treatment for chronic illnesses, including diabetes and cancer.
“There are people there who are diabetic and not getting proper care, and who are signing up for their deportation because they think they’re going to die in that jail,” Tramonte said.
The sheriff’s office has defended the jail’s operations in the past and has argued the facility follows appropriate standards for inmate and detainee care.
Jones, a longtime sheriff known nationally for his outspoken views on immigration enforcement, has publicly supported partnerships between local jails and federal immigration authorities. Butler County has housed immigration detainees for years under agreements tied to federal detention programs.
Tramonte said Tenelanda was transferred to another detention facility in the south before being deported to Ecuador in August 2025 after approximately 30 years in the US. She said his family, including three adult children, has struggled emotionally and financially since his removal.
Tenelanda’s children traveled roughly 10 hours by bus on multiple occasions to visit him for brief video calls while he was detained at Butler County Jail, Tramonte said.
“There’s no deportation exception to the Constitution,” Davis said. “If accountability were contingent on that, then deportation would become a tool to be used with impunity, or you could abuse someone, ship them out, and then walk away free, and that's not how our Constitution works. We're not going to allow that. And this is the first step, but it's an important step toward accountability."
