CUMBERLAND — Three former correctional officers who were convicted of assaulting inmates at North Branch Correctional Institute will spend several months in jail, but won’t be sent to prison, a judge proclaimed Thursday during sentencing hearings.

Richard Robinson, 36, of Cumberland, and Kenneth Platter, 37, of Cresaptown, were sentenced to six months of “local incarceration” at the Allegany County Detention Center, and an additional two and a half years of probation by Circuit Court Judge Gary Leasure.

Tony V. Nery, 42, of Chambersburg, Pa., was sentenced to five months in jail.

The former correctional officers faced maximum penalties of decades in prison for their involvement in the assault of six inmates in early March 2008. The inmates had been transferred to NBCI after being involved in an altercation with correctional officers at Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown.

“The court obviously has a great respect for corrections officers,” Leasure said just before sentencing Robinson Thursday afternoon. “There’s a trust that is placed on correctional officers to protect the public from very dangerous people, but also to keep safe the inmates who are serving time in prison. That’s where Mr. Robinson crossed the line in this case.”

Family members of each of the defendants attended the separate sentencings, with some wiping tears and shaking their heads as they exited the courtroom. Robinson and Platter left the courthouse with their families, after the judge deferred the start of their sentences until 10 a.m. Monday.

“Make sure you’re there, sir, and not a minute late, or they’ll charge you with escape,” Leasure said to Platter, whose attorney asked for the delay so that Platter could make arrangements for the care of his 19-month-old baby.

Platter, who like Robinson and Nery lost his prison job after being charged, hasn’t been able to find employment and has been a stay-at-home-parent for the last year and a half, his attorney, Rebecca Freeland, said. Freeland requested that Platter receive home detention if the judge decided incarceration was necessary.

“This is a tragic case,” said Leasure, adding that six months in jail “is as lenient under the circumstances as is warranted. Sgt. Platter obviously was a valued employee up to this event.”

Robinson’s attorney, Edward Crossland, asked that he be allowed to start his jail time Monday so that he could follow up on a possible construction job. Crossland, who also requested that Robinson be given work release, told the judge his client has already paid enough consequences for his crime.

“He’s lost a $40,000-a-year job,” Crossland said. “He’s lost his retirement. His gone through his savings to defend himself. He’s lost everything....There’s nothing to be gained by placing this man in jail. Nothing.”

Leasure denied the work release request.

Nery’s attorney, D. Bennett Thompson, pointed out that Nery did not have a juvenile or adult criminal background, had no convictions through the Motor Vehicle Administration and no history of alcohol abuse or substance abuse. Nery’s wife, Pamela Nery, painted her husband as a gentle, caring man and a doting father to their 9-month-old son. The two met in 2002 when both worked as correctional officers in Maryland.

“They want you to believe my husband is a monster,” Pamela Nery told Leasure during the allocution phase just before the sentence was announced. “But he’s not. He’s a good and loving father. He’s not been in any trouble before. He’s not been in any trouble since.”

In each of the three cases, Leasure said there had been an “unacceptable breach of authority and public trust.”

Three other correctional officers were charged in the assaults. Ryan Dolan, 28, of Rawlings, was found not guilty on assault and conspiracy to commit assault charges, and charges were dismissed against Sherman Jones, Jr. 40, of Fort Ashby, W. Va.

During a five-day trial, Jason Weaver, 36, of Cumberland, was found not guilty of six counts of assault, and guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit assault. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 19.

Contact Kristin Harty Barkley at kharty@times-news.com.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.