An inmate being housed at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center near Philipsburg is continuing to complain about the facility’s lack of mental health care and other conditions of his confinement that have occurred over the past two years.

Federal court records show that Pablo David Reyes Ponce, a native of Ecuador, has filed five federal lawsuits since last December.

Three of the lawsuits against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its employees were filed in April alone, while two other lawsuits were filed with the U.S. District Court in Johnstown last December.

The two older lawsuits were both dismissed because Reyes Ponce failed to follow court orders to amend the filings.

District Judge Stephanie L. Haines dismissed one of the complaints while a second was recommended for dismissal by Magistrate Judge Kezia O.L. Taylor, who presides in Pittsburgh.

Reyes Ponce, representing himself, complains that he has been in ICE custody at Moshannon Valley since May 17, 2024.

He was initially arrested in Newark, N.J., and was ordered removed from the United States by the Board of Immigration Appeals.

However, he appealed his case, and on Nov. 19, 2024, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia placed a stay on his removal pending the outcome of the appeal.

He has remained in ICE custody at Moshannon Valley — and for a short time as an inmate of the Federal Correctional Institution at Lewisburg — since his initial arrest.

He complained in an earlier petition that he was attacked by another inmate, noting that no adequate protective protocols were put in place even though, he alleges, staff and ICE officials knew about the planned assault.

After the attack, Reyes Ponce contends he was placed in solitary confinement, during which time, he states, his “mental health deteriorated significantly.”

Reyes Ponce outlines in his most recent petition that his stay at Moshannon Valley violates the Fifth and Eighth amendments to the Constitution.

“Plaintiff has suffered severe harm including psychological damage, exacerbation of psychiatric disorders, increased risk of self harm and other injuries,” during his incarceration at Moshannon Valley.

He is seeking compensatory damages, including the cost of mental health treatment, a review of protective protocols at Moshannon Valley and mental health screening and treatment.

Reyes Ponce, while he has not yet been granted asylum in the United States, fears removal to his home country.

He predicts that if he is sent back to Ecuador, “irreparable harm (will be) caused,” explaining he would be subject to political prosecution in his native land.

“The Judicial System and the police are being used as tools of torture, and all his rights are being violated, and the terrorist groups are clearly trying to end his life,” he stated in his petition.

His most recent petition has been returned to Taylor for review.