PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Philadelphia prison guard pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of violating inmates’ civil rights and falsifying records, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced.
Christopher Knight, 47, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond on five counts of depriving individuals of their civil rights under color of law and two counts of falsifying records.
According to court filings, Knight used pepper spray on five restrained inmates while working at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in early 2023.
Prosecutors said the incidents began on January 8, 2023, when Knight sprayed an inmate who was lying face down with his hands behind his back, continuing to use force during and after handcuffing.
Two days later, Knight sprayed another handcuffed inmate being escorted down a hallway, and later that day sprayed a third inmate returning to his cell, continuing after the individual was restrained, according to the filings.
On March 20, 2023, Knight sprayed a fourth inmate who was writing on paper and not posing a threat, and continued while the individual was on the ground.
On March 24, 2023, Knight sprayed a fifth inmate who was lying face down, prosecutors said.
Authorities said Knight falsified multiple use-of-force reports by omitting details of the incidents.
Knight was charged by indictment in May 2025.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 15 and faces a maximum possible sentence of 90 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Philadelphia Department of Prisons and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Priya DeSouza and Michael Miller.
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