FILE PHOTO.

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

A Vernon man who has been convicted of assaulting three prison guards is taking legal action against the Okanagan Correctional Centre having spent months in solitary confinement.

According to court documents filed July 16, Blake Dergez has spent a total of four and a half months in isolation since being incarcerated in September 2021.

The court documents said as of July 16, Dergez has been confined separately for 36 consecutive days and notes that prisons are only supposed to keep prisoners in isolation for three days at a time.

He is also asking to be transferred to a different prison.

Dergez, who has a lengthy criminal record, made headlines in 2021 after he was arrested in connection with pointing a laser at a plane.

He was tracked to Becker Park in Vernon where an incident unravelled leaving Dergez facing five charges of assaulting five members of the public and pouring gasoline on an RCMP officer.

The majority of the charges were stayed but Dergez was convicted of assaulting the officer earlier this year and several other counts and sentenced to 25 months jail.

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While in custody at the Okanagan Correctional Centre awaiting trial for the laser incident and charges of drug trafficking, he assaulted two prison guards.

In one case he punched through the metal tray hatch of his prison door hitting the guard's plastic shield which then hit the guard's face. He was in segregation at the time.

In the second case, Dergez attacked a guard from behind repetitively punching him more than a dozen times before throwing him to the floor and kicking him.

Provincial Court Judge Kathleen Ker sentenced Dergez to 20 months in jail for the assaults.

"Unfortunately for Mr. Dergez, his nonconforming attitude and distrust of authority figures has created a significant hurdle for him in trying to do his time quietly and be left alone," the judge said during sentencing.

In sentencing Dergez, Judge Ker highlighted the abuse he had suffered as a child and his ongoing mental health and addiction issues.

"Sadly, Mr. Dergez appears to be living proof of the longstanding psychological harm that flows from having been victimized at a young age," the judge said.

According to the recent court document, he has also been attacked by other inmates in prison for "repeatedly voicing his concerns" about his treatment in jail.

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The court filing said prison guards then told inmates that Dergez had told them about being attacked.

He was then put in separate confinement for three days on the basis he would be at risk of serious harm otherwise.

"(Dergez) would not have been at any risk of serious harm if the correctional officers, supervisors and assistant deputy wardens had not disclosed to members of the living unit that (he) had spoken with the same correctional officers, supervisors and assistant deputy wardens," the filing said.

In June, Dergez was placed in separate confinement again for 15 days, "on the basis that 'is jeopardizing the management, operation or security of the correctional centre or is likely to jeopardize the management, operation or security of the correctional centre."

More confinement followed with the authorities saying he was likely at risk of serious harm if not held separately.

Dergez's lawyer also claimed he wasn't given access to documentation from the prison and was told by prison authorities the request had to come from Dergez.

The matter is scheduled for a hearing at the end of this month.

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