Ex-Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill gets 18-month sentence for civil rights abuses

A man who made 20 false reports of bombs and shootings in Georgia and around the U.S. and Canada has been sentenced to three years in prison.

A jury in October convicted former Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill on six of seven federal charges against him. Prosecutors recommended that he serve three years and 10 months in prison, while defense attorneys asked for a sentence of probation, home confinement and a fine.

Charlie Neibergall / Charlie Neibergall

This story was updated at 3:47 p.m.

A former Georgia sheriff convicted of violating the civil rights of people in his custody by unnecessarily strapping them into restraint chairs was sentenced Tuesday to serve a year and a half in prison.

A jury in October convicted Victor Hill — who was sheriff of Clayton County, just south of Atlanta — on six of seven federal charges. Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of three years and 10 months in prison, while defense attorneys asked for a sentence of probation, home confinement and a fine.