TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for eight former prison employees accused of abusing inmates, including forcing some to clean toilets with their tongues.

The eight were among 13 prison employees who had already been fired from the 605-inmate medium and minimum security at the Hendry Correctional Institution in the Everglades. The previous warden and an assistant warden resigned, and three others were reassigned after an inmate was beaten and choked by guards in March.

“These former employees were involved in a series of dehumanizing and degrading behaviors,” state prisons chief Jim McDonough said, noting that some inmates were given choices of eating their food off the floor or providing sexual favors to guards.

“We had cases where inmates were compelled under threat of force to clean a commode with their tongues,” Mr. McDonough said. “These were improper, illegal, heinous, and despicable acts, and it was done apparently in an organized and conspiratorial fashion.”

Just two weeks ago, Mr. McDonough’s predecessor as the head of Florida’s prison system, James Crosby, was sentenced to eight years in prison for taking thousands of dollars in kickbacks from a prison contractor. A top Crosby aide, Allen Clark, was also sentenced to 31 months in prison.