Ex-guard admits he harassed Essex sheriff

A former jail guard pleaded guilty yesterday to criminal harassment and other charges for invoking the name of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassin in a threatening message directed at Essex County Sheriff Frank G. Cousins Jr., the first African-American to head a county correctional system in the state.

Scott "Tiny" Thompson, 41, was spared prison time in exchange for his guilty plea in Lynn District Court to harassment and two counts of threats to commit a crime. Thompson, who worked at the Essex County House of Correction in Middleton, received a two-year suspended sentence and three years' probation.

The former correction officer, who stands 6-feet-4 and has a tattoo on his left forearm of the Confederate flag, admitted posting threatening messages on the Essex County Correctional Officers Association website under the screen name "The Shadow Knows" between July 2004 and September 2005. As a solution to labor problems with the sheriff, Thompson wrote in one of his postings: "There was someone who can help, but James Earl Ray is dead!"

Cousins, who has been sheriff since 1996, told investigators at the time that he felt threatened by the reference to King's killer. He told investigators he also believed it was Thompson who created a poster circulated via e-mail that showed a photograph of Cousins in the crosshairs of a sniper.

"People shouldn't have to deal with these things," Cousins said in an interview, adding that he was pleased that Thompson admitted his guilt. "When they do, people need to step up and speak out."

Thompson was a lieutenant when he resigned in 1999, long before he wrote the messages. He was also ordered by Judge Dominic J. Paratore to perform 300 hours of community service under the direction of the Anti-Defamation League and to stay away from Cousins, his family, and the Middleton jail.

ANDREW RYAN AND JOHN R. ELLEMENT