Report on
Sexual
Victimization
in Prisons
and Jails
Review Panel
on Prison Rape
April 2012

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Report on Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

G. J. Mazza, Editor

The Review Panel on Prison Rape’s Report on Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails is
available online at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/reviewpanel.htm. Obtaining prior
permission is not necessary for copying and distributing this report. To contact the Review Panel
on Prison Rape, e-mail PREAReviewPanel@usdoj.gov or call (202) 307-0690.
Review Panel on Prison Rape, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC (April 2012)

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Dr. Reginald A. Wilkinson is currently the president and chief executive officer of the Ohio College
Access Network. He is the former executive director of the Business Alliance on Higher Education and
the Economy. He worked with the State of Ohio Department of Rehabilitation since 1973, and prior to
his retirement, he served as its director for sixteen years. Dr. Wilkinson is also a past president of the
American Correctional Association (ACA) and the Association of State Correctional Administrators
(ASCA). He is a past chairperson of the National Institute of Corrections Advisory Board on which he
still serves as a member. Dr. Wilkinson has authored numerous articles on a variety of correctional
topics, and he has received awards from many organizations, including the National Governors
Association, the ACA, the ASCA, the International Community Corrections Association, the National
Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, and the Volunteers of America. Dr. Wilkinson’s academic
background includes a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in higher education
administration, both from The Ohio State University. He earned a doctorate in education from the
University of Cincinnati.
Dr. Gary E. Christensen has worked within the correctional field for the past thirty-three years. He has
researched extensively the premise of evidence-based or outcome-driven practice within a correctional
milieu and initiated several innovative correctional programs, including the Dutchess County Jail
Transition Program, which has been recognized nationally for significant recidivism reduction and the
enhancement of general public safety. In addition to his responsibilities as jail administrator, Dr.
Christensen also served in an advisory capacity to the executive and legislative branches of county
government as chair of the Dutchess County Criminal Justice Council. He authored legislation to counter
the effects of police racial profiling, and he coordinated master planning for the criminal justice system,
implementing system-wide, evidence-based, criminal justice practice. For his many contributions to the
field of corrections, Dr. Christensen has received recognition from numerous local and state entities. In
2007, he received national acclaim by being named the Jail Administrator of the Year by the American
Jail Association. Since his retirement from public service, Dr. Christensen, as president of Corrections
Partners, Inc., continues to work with leaders throughout the field of criminal justice to enhance the
implementation of evidence-based practice. He has developed the Applied Correctional Transition
Strategy, a comprehensive software suite designed to enhance all aspects of daily jail transition as well as
to provide policymakers with essential information to ensure that allocated resources lead to the most
productive, cost-efficient outcomes. Dr. Christensen continues to serve on several national advisory
boards investigating innovative responses to pressing issues within corrections and to author publications
for the field at large, including the Transition from Jail to the Community Implementation Toolkit. Dr.
Christensen is a professor of management, leadership, and organizational psychology at the University of
Phoenix, School of Advanced Studies; an adjunct professor at Marist College; and a qualified master
police/peace instructor with the State of New York.
Anne Seymour has been a national crime victim advocate for twenty-seven years, specializing in
corrections-based victim services. She has authored or contributed to many texts and curricula that
address improving victims’ rights and services throughout criminal and juvenile justice processes,
including the 2008 Victim Issues Related to Prison Rape and Sexual Assault curriculum sponsored by the
Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice. She has received numerous honors for her
work to benefit crime victims and the field of corrections, including the 1992 Outstanding Service to
Victims of Crime Award from President George H.W. Bush and the 2007 U.S. Congressional Victims’
Rights Caucus Ed Stout Memorial Award for Outstanding Victim Advocacy.

Executive Summary
This Report presents the findings of the Review Panel on Prison Rape (Panel), resulting from the hearings
it held in Washington, DC, in the spring and fall of 2011, based on the national survey that the Bureau of
Justice Statistics (BJS) published in August 2010, Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails, Reported by
Inmates, 2008-09. Under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, the Panel is responsible for holding
public hearings to which it invites, relying on data from the BJS, two correctional institutions with a low
prevalence of sexual victimization and three institutions with a high prevalence of sexual victimization.
The purpose of the hearings is to identify the common characteristics of (1) sexual predators and victims,
(2) correctional institutions with a low prevalence of sexual victimization, and (3) correctional institutions
with a high prevalence of sexual victimization.
In 2011, the Panel held two sets of hearings. In April of 2011, the hearings addressed federal and state
prisons; in September of 2011, the hearings addressed local jails.
Hearings on Prisons
For the April 2011 hearings on prisons, the Panel invited the following five prisons to appear:
(1)

Low Incidence: Elkton Federal Correctional Institution, Federal Bureau of Prisons,
Elkton, Ohio.

(2)

Low Incidence: Bridgeport Pre-Parole Transfer Facility, operated by Corrections
Corporation of America for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ),
Bridgeport, Texas.

(3)

High Incidence: James V. Allred Unit, TDCJ, Wichita Falls, Texas.

(4)

High Incidence: Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, Virginia Department of
Corrections, Troy, Virginia.

(5)

High Incidence: Elmira Correctional Facility, Department of Corrections and Community
Supervision, Elmira, New York.

Based on the prison hearings, the Panel identified the following common themes requiring careful
consideration:
●

Recognizing Common Characteristics of Inmates Who are Vulnerable to Sexual Abuse

●

Understanding Common Differences between Male and Female Facilities

●

Understanding the Importance of Professional Language in Establishing a Safe
Environment

●

Recognizing the Vulnerability of Non-Heterosexual Inmates and Their Need for
Proper Treatment

●

Strengthening the Integrity of the Entire Complaint Process

●

Providing Effective Victim Services

●

Equipping Staff to Respond Effectively to Inmate Sexual Victimization

ii

The Panel identified the following topics for further study:
●

Why are Homosexuality and Prior Victimization Significant Indicators of Inmate
Victims of Sexual Abuse?

●

What are the Distinctive Needs of Female Facilities in Preventing Sexual
Victimization?

Hearings on Jails
For the September 2011 hearings on jails, the Panel invited the following five jails to appear:
(1)

Low Incidence: Hinds County Work Center, Hinds County Sheriff’s Department,
Raymond, Mississippi.

(2)

Low Incidence: David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office,
Tulsa, Oklahoma.

(3)

High Incidence: Clallam County Corrections Facility, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office,
Port Angeles, Washington.

(4)

High Incidence: Pre-Trial Detention Center, Miami-Dade County Corrections and
Rehabilitation Department, Miami, Florida.

(5)

High Incidence: Orleans Parish Prison, Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, New Orleans,
Louisiana.

Based on the jail hearings, the Panel identified the following common themes requiring careful
consideration:
●

Acknowledging the Importance of Facility Design

●

Appreciating the Value of Outside Oversight

●

Noting the Reluctance to Prosecute Sexual Victimization Cases Involving Inmates

●

Recognizing the Resource Challenges that Jails Face

●

Employing Well-Trained, Professional Staff

The Panel identified the following topics for further study:
●

What are the Specific Challenges of Big-City and Rural Jails in Preventing Inmate
Sexual Victimization?

●

What are the Best Practices in Classifying and Housing LGBTQ Inmates?

●

What Would Encourage the Prosecution of Crimes Involving Inmate Sexual
Victimization?

●

What are the Policies and Practices that Contribute to a Jail Culture that Has Zero
Tolerance for Sexual Victimization?

●

What are the Best Practices for Monitoring Compliance with a Jail’s ZeroTolerance Policy for Sexual Victimization?

●

What are the Best Practices for Reliably Reporting Sexual Abuse in Jails?
iii

Table of Contents
I. Overview.......................... ..........................................................................................................................1

A. Background .......................................................................................................................................... 1
B. BJS Report ............................................................................................................................................ 2
C. Selection of Facilities for the Public Hearings ...................................................................................... 3
II. Review of Facilities................ .................................................................................................................. 5
A. Prisons................................................................................................................................................... 6
1. Low-Incidence Prisons .......................................................................................................... 6
a. FCI Elkton ....................................................................................................................... 6
i. Facility Description ............................................................................................ 6
ii. Facility’s Explanation for Reported Low Incidence of Sexual Victimization ... 7
iii. Observations ................................................................................................... 11
b. Bridgeport ..................................................................................................................... 12
i. Facility Description .......................................................................................... 12
ii. Facility’s Explanation for Reported Low Incidence of Sexual Victimization . 13
iii. Observations ................................................................................................... 15
2. High-Incidence Prisons ..................................................................................................... 16
a. Fluvanna ........................................................................................................................ 16
i. Facility Description .......................................................................................... 16
ii. Facility’s Explanation for Reported High Incidence of Sexual Victimization 18
iii. Observations ................................................................................................... 22
(a) The Distinctive Dynamics of Women’s Prisons ............................... 22
(b) Onsite Visit ....................................................................................... 25
(c) Inmates and Trauma .......................................................................... 26
(d) Testimony from Former Inmate and Inmate Advocate ..................... 26
iv. Facility-Specific Recommendations ............................................................... 29
b. Allred ............................................................................................................................ 30
i. Facility Description .......................................................................................... 30
ii. Facility’s Explanation for Reported High Incidence of Sexual Victimization 32
iii. Observations ................................................................................................... 33
iv. Facility-Specific Recommendations ............................................................... 37
c. Elmira ............................................................................................................................ 38
i. Facility Description .......................................................................................... 38
iv

ii. Facility Explanation for Reported High Incidence of Sexual Victimization ... 40
iii. Observations ................................................................................................... 41
iv. Facility-Specific Recommendations ............................................................... 46
3. Common Themes ................................................................................................................ 47
a. Recognizing Common Characteristics of Inmates Who are Vulnerable to Sexual
Abuse ................................................................................................................................ 47
b. Understanding Common Differences between Male and Female Facilities ................. 47
c. Understanding the Importance of Professional Language in Establishing a Safe
Environment...................................................................................................................... 48
d. Recognizing the Vulnerability of Non-Heterosexual Inmates and Their Need for Proper
Treatment .......................................................................................................................... 48
e. Strengthening the Integrity of the Entire Complaint Process ........................................ 49
f. Providing Effective Victim Services ............................................................................. 50
g. Equipping Staff to Respond Effectively to Inmate Sexual Victimization .................... 50
4. Topics for Further Study ..................................................................................................... 50
a. Why are Homosexuality and Prior Victimization Significant Indicators of Inmate
Victims of Sexual Abuse?................................................................................................. 50
b. What are the Distinctive Needs of Female Facilities in Preventing Sexual
Victimization? ................................................................................................................... 51
B. Jails.. ................................................................................................................................................... 51
1. Low-Incidence Jails ............................................................................................................. 51
a. Hinds County ................................................................................................................ 51
i. Facility Description .......................................................................................... 51
ii. Facility’s Explanation for Reported Low Incidence of Sexual Victimization . 52
iii. Observations ................................................................................................... 53
b. The Moss Center ........................................................................................................... 54
i. Facility Description .......................................................................................... 54
ii. Facility’s Explanation for Reported Low Incidence of Sexual Victimization . 56
iii. Observations ................................................................................................... 57
2. High-Incidence Jails ............................................................................................................ 58
a. Clallam County ............................................................................................................. 58
i. Facility Description .......................................................................................... 58
ii. Facility’s Explanation for Reported High Incidence of Sexual Victimization 59
iii. Observations ................................................................................................... 61
v

iv. Facility-Specific Recommendations ............................................................... 61
b. Miami-Dade PTDC ....................................................................................................... 62
i. Facility Description .......................................................................................... 62
ii. Facility’s Explanation for Reported High Incidence of Sexual Victimization 64
iii. Observations ................................................................................................... 67
iv. Facility-Specific Recommendations ............................................................... 68
c. OPP ............................................................................................................................... 68
i. Facility Description .......................................................................................... 68
ii. Facility’s Explanation of Reported High Incidence of Sexual Victimization . 71
iii. Observations ................................................................................................... 73
(a) Testimony of Civil Rights Attorney .................................................. 74
(b) Statement of Former Inmate.............................................................. 76
(c) OPP’s Response to the Former Inmate’s Testimony ......................... 78
(d) Testimony of Youth Advocate .......................................................... 80
iv. Facility-Specific Recommendations ............................................................... 82
3. Common Themes ................................................................................................................ 84
a. Acknowledging the Importance of Facility Design ...................................................... 84
b. Appreciating the Value of Outside Oversight ............................................................... 84
c. Noting the Reluctance to Prosecute Sexual Victimization Cases Involving Inmates ... 85
d. Recognizing the Resource Challenges that Jails Face .................................................. 85
e. Employing Well-Trained, Professional Staff ................................................................ 85
4. Topics for Further Study ..................................................................................................... 86
a. What are the Specific Challenges of Big-City and Rural Jails in Preventing Inmate
Sexual Victimization? ....................................................................................................... 86
b. What are the Best Practices in Classifying and Housing LGBTQ Inmates? ................ 86
c. What Would Encourage the Prosecution of Crimes Involving Inmate Sexual
Victimization? ................................................................................................................... 86
d. What are the Policies and Practices that Contribute to a Jail Culture that Has Zero
Tolerance for Sexual Victimization? ................................................................................ 86
e. What are the Best Practices for Monitoring Compliance with a Jail’s Zero-Tolerance
Policy for Sexual Victimization? ...................................................................................... 87
f. What are the Best Practices for Reliably Reporting Sexual Abuse in Jails? ................. 87
III. Conclusion.............. ....................................................................................................................... 87

vi

Appendices
Appendix A

Contact Letters and Data Requests to Selected Facilities

Appendix B

Chart Indicating Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Facility

Appendix C

Charts Summarizing Facility Investigations of Inmate-on-Inmate and
Staff-on-Inmate Sexual Assaults

Appendix D

Memorandum from D. Scott Dodrill, Assistant Director, Correctional
Program Division, Bureau of Prisons, to Chief Executive Officers (Oct.
12, 2011).

As the appendices are lengthy, they are accessible only from the Panel’s website at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/reviewpanel.htm. Online readers may also access the
appendices by clicking on the title for each appendix, which will then direct the reader to the
corresponding document posted online.

vii

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Report on Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails
This Report presents the findings of the Review Panel on Prison Rape (Panel) related to the
hearings it held in Washington, DC, in the spring and fall of 2011. Based on the national survey
that the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) published in August 2010, Sexual Victimization in
Prisons and Jails, Reported by Inmates, 2008-09,1 the Panel’s hearings focused on the
experiences of selected correctional institutions that had either a high or low prevalence of
inmate sexual victimization. The Panel’s goal in issuing this Report is to assist correctional
practitioners by identifying common themes and making recommendations for further research
that will lead to effective practices that prevent sexual victimization in prisons and jails.
I.

Overview
A.

Background

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 20032 created the Panel and commissioned it to
assist the BJS by holding public hearings based on data that the BJS collected on the incidence of
sexual victimization in correctional institutions in the United States.3 According to PREA, the
BJS is to survey state and federal prisons as well as other categories of correctional facilities that
the Attorney General designates.4 Through BJS, the Attorney General identified jails as one of
the categories of correctional institutions that merited a national survey under PREA. The
purpose of the Panel’s hearings is to identify the common characteristics of (1) victims and
perpetrators of prison rape, (2) prisons and prison systems with a low incidence of prison rape,
and (3) prisons and prison systems with a high incidence of prison rape.5
In 2011, the Panel held two sets of hearings in Washington, DC.6 The first hearings, on April
26-27, 2011, addressed state and federal prisons; the second hearings, on September 15-16, 2011,
addressed jails. At each of these hearings, the Panel requested the appearance of five
correctional institutions, two representing facilities with the lowest incidence of sexual
victimization and three representing the highest.7
PREA created both the Panel and the Commission on Prison Rape (Commission).8 In June of
2009, after issuing proposed institutional standards for reducing prison rape, the Commission
1

BJS, Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 2008-09 (Jan. 2010) (A. Beck et al.),
available at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/svpjri0809.pdf [hereinafter BJS Report].
2
42 U.S.C. §§ 15601-15609 (2006) (Pub. L. No. 108-79, 117 Stat. 972).
3
Id. § 15603(b).
4
Id. § 15603(c)(4).
5
Id. § 15603(b)(3)(A).
6
The members of the Panel in 2011 were Dr. Reginald A. Wilkinson, Chairperson; Dr. Gary E. Christensen; and
Ms. Anne Seymour. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice
provided the Panel with professional staffing and support services. OCR staff persons assisting the Panel in 2011
included Mr. George Mazza, Senior Counsel; Mr. Christopher Zubowicz, Attorney Advisor; Ms. Kimberly
Scheckner, Attorney Advisor; Mr. Joseph Swiderski, Program Analyst; and Ms. Anna Offit, Law Clerk.
7
42 U.S.C. § 15603(b)(3)(A).
8
Id. § 15606(a).

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

disbanded.9 The process for issuing national standards is still moving forward at the Justice
Department and the Panel anticipates that the standards may appear in the near future.10 The
Panel’s work complements the work of the Commission in issuing national standards, but it is
independent of it. Through its hearings, the Panel intends to assist both prison administrators
and victim advocates by identifying administrative practices that either contribute to or prevent
sexual victimization of individuals in custody.
B.

BJS Report

The BJS Report analyzed data on sexual victimization in prisons and jails from October of 2008
until December 2009 based on computer-assisted self-interviews of 81,566 inmates, age eighteen
or older, in 167 state and federal prisons and 286 jails in the United States.11 The survey of
inmates is not a complete enumeration of all prison and jail inmates in the United States; rather,
as PREA permits,12 it relies on sampling techniques that allow the BJS to add weights to the
collected data to produce estimates at both the national and facility level.13 Following this
methodology, the BJS was able to identify prisons and jails in the United States that have high
rates of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization14 and staff sexual misconduct.15 The report was
also able to identify prisons and jails with low rates of any type of sexual victimization.16
According to the estimates in the BJS Report, 4.4% of prison inmates and 3.1% of jail inmates
experienced sexual victimization within a period of twelve months or since admission to a
correctional facility, if the admission took place within less than twelve months.17 “Nationwide,
these percentages suggest that approximately 88,500 adults held in prisons and jails at the time of
the survey had been sexually victimized.”18
Approximately 2.1% of prison inmates and 1.5% of jail inmates reported inmate-on-inmate
sexual victimization, whereas approximately 2.8% of prison inmates and 2.0% of jail inmates
reported staff sexual misconduct.19
In comparison to male inmates in prisons and jails, the BJS Report found that female inmates
were more than twice as likely to report inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization.20
Reported sexual activity with facility staff involved 2.9% of male prisoners, 2.1% of male jail
inmates, 2.1% of female prisoners, and 1.5% of female jail inmates.21
9

National Prison Rape Elimination Commission Report (June 2009), available at
http://www.cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/nprec/20090820154816/http://nprec.us/publication/.
10
National Standards To Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape, 76 Fed. Reg. 6248 (proposed Feb. 3, 2011)
(to be codified at 28 C.F.R. pt. 115) [hereinafter Nat’l Standards].
11
BJS Report 6.
12
42 U.S.C. § 15603(a)(1)(4).
13
BJS Report 6.
14
Id. 8 tbl.2.
15
Id. 9 tbl.3.
16
Id. 10 tbl.4.
17
Id. 5, 6.
18
Id. 5.
19
Id.
20
Id.

2

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

The BJS Report identified risk factors for both inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate sexual
victimization.22 The rates of reported inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization were significantly
higher for inmates who had the following characteristics:
●

Being white or multi-racial,

●

Having a college education,

●

Having a sexual orientation other than heterosexual, and

●

Experiencing sexual victimization prior to coming to the facility.23

The rates of reported staff sexual misconduct were lower among inmates who were white and
twenty-five years old or older, whereas the rates were higher among inmates who had a college
education and who experienced sexual victimization before coming to the facility.24
Among inmates reporting inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization, 13% of male prisoners, 19% of
male jail inmates, and 4% of female inmates in both prisons and jails said they were victimized
within the first twenty-four hours of admission to a facility.25 Among inmates reporting staff-oninmate sexual victimization, 16% of male prisoners, 30% of male jail inmates, 5% of female
prisoners, and 4% of female jail inmates said they were victimized within the first twenty-four
hours of admission to a facility.26
Significantly, most perpetrators of staff sexual misconduct were female and most victims were
male: among male victims of staff sexual misconduct, 69% of prisoners and 64% of jail inmates
reported sexual activity with female staff.27
C.

Selection of Facilities for the Public Hearings

Relying on the BJS Report, the Panel selected a total of ten correctional institutions to appear at
public hearings in Washington, DC, in 2011.
For the April hearings on prisons, the Panel identified two institutions representing lowincidence facilities: (1) the Elkton Federal Correctional Institution (FCI Elkton), Federal Bureau
of Prisons (BOP), in Elkton, Ohio, and (2) the Bridgeport Pre-Parole Transfer Facility
(Bridgeport), operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) for the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), in Bridgeport, Texas; and three institutions representing highincidence facilities: (1) the James V. Allred Unit (Allred), TDCJ, in Wichita Falls, Texas; (2) the
Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women (Fluvanna), Virginia Department of Corrections
21

Id.
Id.
23
Id.
24
Id.
25
Id.
26
Id.
27
Id.
22

3

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

(VADOC), in Troy, Virginia; and (3) the Elmira Correctional Facility (Elmira), New York
Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS),28 in Elmira, New York.
One of the factors influencing the Panel’s selection of facilities in 2011 was its interest in
gathering more information on the experiences of women who have been the target of sexual
victimization in prisons and jails and to understand the dynamics of correctional facilities that
serve women. Accordingly, for the prison hearings, the Panel chose Fluvanna, a women’s
facility that the BJS Report identified as having not only one of the highest rates of inmate-oninmate sexual victimization but also one of the highest rates of staff sexual misconduct.29
Seeking to learn from a female prison with a low incidence of sexual victimization, the Panel
chose Bridgeport, which had no incidents of sexual victimization during the time period of the
BJS survey.30
The Panel selected FCI Elkton based on its having a low incidence of any type of sexual
victimization,31 and the Panel wanted at least one representative of a federal prison at the
hearings.
The Panel chose Allred not only because the BJS Report identified it as having one of the highest
rates of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization32 but also because the Panel had previously
identified Allred, as well as other prisons in the TDCJ, as having a high rate of sexual
victimization, and the Panel was interested in learning why the prison had not improved its
performance despite having appeared at a prior hearing.33 The Panel chose Elmira based on its
having the highest rate of male offenders reporting staff sexual misconduct that involved
pressure.34
For the September hearings on jails, the Panel again identified two institutions representing lowincidence facilities: (1) the Hinds County Work Center (Hinds County),35 Hinds County Sheriff’s
Department (HCSD), in Raymond, Mississippi, and (2) the David L. Moss Criminal Justice
Center (Moss Center), Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO), in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and three
institutions representing high-incidence facilities: (1) the Clallam County Corrections Facility
(Clallam County), Clallam County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), in Port Angeles, Washington; (2)
the Pre-Trial Detention Center (PTDC), Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation
Department (MDCR), in Miami, Florida; and (3) the Orleans Parish Prison (OPP), Orleans
Parish Sheriff’s Office (OPSO), in New Orleans, Louisiana.
28

In April of 2011, the New York State Department of Correctional Services merged with the New York State
Division of Parole to become the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision or
DOCCS.
29
BJS Report 8 tbl.2, 9 tbl.3.
30
Id. 10 tbl.4.
31
Id.
32
Id. 8 tbl.2.
33
See BJS, Sexual Victimization in State and Federal Prisons Reported by Inmates, 2007, at 2 tbl.1 (Apr. 2008)
available at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/svsfpri07.pdf [hereinafter BJS Report 2007]; Transcript of
Record: Panel Hearing on Rape and Staff Sexual Misconduct in U.S. Prisons, E. Williams, 190 passim (Mar. 28,
2008), available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_mar08/080328_prea_hearing.txt.
34
BJS Report 9 tbl.3, 10.
35
Since the publication of the BJS Report, the name of the Hinds County Penal Farm has changed to the Hinds
County Work Station. Id. 10 tbl.4, 11.

4

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

The Panel chose Hinds County and the Moss Center because the BJS Report identified each of
them, in comparison to other surveyed jails, as having among the lowest rates of sexual
victimization of any type.36
Consistent with its intent to highlight female facilities during the 2011 hearings, the Panel
initially selected the South White Street Jail, a female facility associated with the OPP, which the
BJS Report identified as having one of the highest rates of inmate-on-inmate sexual
victimization.37 Since the publication of the BJS Report, however, the OPSO closed the South
White Street Jail, prompting the Panel to broaden its inquiry to the OPP as a whole.
Based on the survey results in the BJS Report, the Panel also chose Clallam County, which had a
high rate of reported staff sexual misconduct,38 and the PTDC, which had a high rate of reported
inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization.39
II.

Review of Facilities

In reviewing the correctional facilities that the Panel invited to appear at its hearings in 2011, a
Panel Member or one of its staff members visited each of the facilities, touring the buildings and
grounds and meeting informally not only with facility representatives but also at times with
inmates. The Panel also issued tailored Data Requests to both prisons and jails,40 and each
facility provided a response.41 The Panel engaged the services of Creative Corrections, a private
contractor, to summarize the strengths and weaknesses of each of the selected facilities.42 At the
Panel’s request, Creative Corrections also produced a chart summarizing reported incidents of
both inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate sexual victimization at the selected facilities.43
The Panel has organized this Report to correspond to its inquiry at the public hearings. The first
half of the Report presents the prisons the Panel invited to the April 2011 hearings, treating first
the low-incidence facilities and then the high-incidence facilities. Based on the data collected,
the Panel offers facility-specific recommendations, identifies common themes, and proposes
topics for further study. The second half of the Report presents the jails the Panel invited to the
September 2011 hearings, again addressing first the low-incidence facilities before turning to the
high-incidence facilities. With the focus on jails, the Panel also offers facility-specific
recommendations, identifies common themes, and proposes topics for additional research.

36

Id. 10 tbl.4.
Id. 8 tbl.2.
38
Id. 9 tbl.3.
39
Id. 8 tbl.2.
40
App. A.
41
The responses to the Data Request are on file with the Panel.
42
App. B.
43
App. C.
37

5

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

A.

Prisons
1.

Low-Incidence Prisons
a.

FCI Elkton
i.

Facility Description

FCI Elkton, located in Elkton, Ohio, is a low-to-medium-security facility,44 which had a rated
capacity in both January 2008 and January 2009 of 1536 male inmates.45 In January of 2008, the
actual number of inmates at FCI Elkton was 1797.46 In calendar year 2008, 3045 inmates spent
any time at FCI Elkton; the average length of stay was 539 days; and the longest stay of any
inmate was 3501 days.47 In January of 2009, the actual number of inmates was 1925.48 In
calendar year 2009, 2855 inmates spent any time at FCI Elkton; the average length of stay was
555 days; and the longest stay of any inmate was 3704 days.49
The ethnic and racial composition of the inmates in FCI Elkton in 2008 was 44.6% White, 54.1%
African American, 13.9% Hispanic, 0.8% Asian or Pacific Islander, and 0.5% Alaska Native or
American Indian.50 In 2009, the ethnic and racial composition of the inmates in FCI Elkton was
45.1% White, 53.6% African American, 1.7% Hispanic, 0.7% Asian or Pacific Islander, 0.5%
Alaska Native or American Indian.51
FCI Elkton reported no suicides or attempted suicides in 2008.52 In 2009, there were no suicides,
but there were two suicide attempts—neither was connected to sexual victimization.53
On January 1, 2008, FCI Elkton employed 149 correctional officers; the inmate-to-correctional
officer ratio was 16.6 to 1.0; FCI Elkton employed 185 other correctional workers; the inmate-toother-correctional-worker ratio was 13.3 to 1.0; the total onboard staff was 334, with an inmateto-total-staff ratio of 7.4 to 1.0.54 On January 1, 2009, FCI Elkton employed 152 correctional
officers; the inmate-to-correctional-officer ratio was 16.6 to 1.0; FCI Elkton employed 183 other
correctional workers; the inmate-to-other-correctional-worker ratio was 13.8 to 1.0; the total
onboard staff was 335, with an inmate-to-total-staff ratio of 7.5 to 1.0.55

44

Transcript of Record: Panel Hearings on Rape and Staff Sexual Misconduct in U.S. Prisons, H. Lappin, 279:7-8
(Apr. 26-27, 2011), available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/transcript_04_2011.htm [hereinafter Tr.].
45
FCI Elkton Resp. 9(a), 10(a) (on file with the Panel).
46
Id. 9(b).
47
Id. 9(f)-(h).
48
Id 10(b).
49
Id. 10(f)-(h).
50
Id. 11. In reporting national origin and racial data for inmates, FCI Elkton used the category of Asian and Pacific
Islander rather than the two separate categories that the U.S. Census Bureau employs: (1) Asian and (2) Native
Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders. FCI Elkton did not provide an explanation for the total exceeding 100%.
51
Id. 12. FCI Elkton did not provide an explanation for the total exceeding 100%.
52
Id. 13.
53
Id. 15, 16.
54
Id. 25.
55
Id.

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

In 2008 and 2009, FCI Elkton terminated no staff members for sexual misconduct.56 In 2009,
FCI Elkton permitted one staff member to resign in a matter related to sexual misconduct.57
There was one instance in each of the calendar years 2008 and 2009 when a staff member
received either discipline or a warning for sexual misconduct, but the investigations sustained
neither charge.58
During calendar years 2008 and 2009, there were two investigations of staff-on-inmate sexual
misconduct.59 One investigation found that the evidence did not substantiate the allegations; the
other investigation concluded that the evidence did support the following charges: unprofessional
conduct of a sexual nature, preferential treatment of an inmate, breach of security, introduction
of contraband, and soliciting or accepting anything of value.60 Subsequently the staff member
resigned.61 During the same time period there were three investigations of inmate-on-inmate
sexual victimization.62 In all three instances the investigations did not sustain the charges.63
ii.

Facility’s Explanation for Reported Low
Incidence of Sexual Victimization

In his written statement to the Panel, Director of BOP Harley G. Lappin testified that the BOP’s
management approach is the basis for preventing sexual victimization in its facilities, including
FCI Elkton.64 He noted in particular that BOP employs numerous oversight strategies, as well as
an internal system of checks and balances, to ensure compliance with the applicable laws,
regulations, policies, and procedures that exist to prevent sexual victimization of inmates.65 In
addition, the BOP has a written policy that specifically addresses sexual abuse in its facilities.66
According to Mr. Lappin, for security, the BOP relies on a combination of approaches, including
direct-management supervision, facility design, cameras and other enhanced technology, and the
use of the unit-management concept.67 In addition, the BOP uses an inmate-classification system
based on a variety of risk factors, which allows facilities to assign housing based on the needs of
each inmate for security and targeted programming.68
Mr. Lappin noted that inmate participation in programming, which may include prison industries
as well as vocational and educational training, is an important aspect of the operations of BOP

56

Id. 22(a).
Id. 22(b).
58
Id. 22(c).
59
App. C (FCI Elkton Staff-on-Inmate Assaults).
60
Id.
61
Id. (Incident 2).
62
Id. (FCI Elkton Inmate-on-Inmate Assaults).
63
Id.
64
Lappin Test. 2 (Apr. 26, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_apr11/Lappin_Statement.pdf. Mr. Lappin’s testimony also appears in
the Transcript of Record. See Tr., H. Lappin, 227:8-233:10.
65
Lappin Test. 2.
66
Id. (citing Sexually Abusive Behavior Prevention and Intervention Program, P5324.06 (Apr. 27, 2005)).
67
Id. 3.
68
Id.
57

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

facilities.69 Inmate programming plays an important role in reducing inmate idleness and the
stresses associated with prison life.70
Mr. Lappin also testified, “Qualified and trained staff are essential for effective inmate
management.”71 He stated, “All staff are expected to be vigilant and attentive to inmate
accountability and security issues.”72
In regard to discouraging staff misconduct, Mr. Lappin testified that the BOP’s approach is
multidimensional, which begins with employees clearly understanding BOP’s zero-tolerance
policy and continues with staff training on the shared responsibility to report incidents of
misconduct.73 BOP expects staff to report incidents of staff sexual misconduct to the U.S.
Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), which then refers the matter back
to BOP’s independent Office of Internal Affairs.74 The OIG has a hotline available to the public
for reporting employees of the Justice Department who have violated a person’s civil rights or
civil liberties; this hotline is available to BOP inmates for reporting the sexual misconduct of
BOP staff.75
Mr. Lappin said that the BOP also takes allegations of inmate-on-inmate sexual assaults
seriously, referring all allegations to BOP staff.76 If the matter potentially involves a crime, Mr.
Lappin explained, BOP staff will promptly refer the case to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI).77
The BOP’s policy for preventing sexually abusive behavior, Mr. Lappin noted, contains the
following elements: (1) fostering awareness of the BOP’s zero-tolerance policy, (2) following
standardized procedures to detect and prevent sexually abusive behavior, (3) responding
effectively to the various needs of victims, (4) intervening and promptly investigating reported
sexually abusive behavior, and (5) disciplining and prosecuting perpetrators.78
Mr. Lappin observed, “Staff are required to assume all reports of victimization are credible,
regardless of the source.”79 Mr. Lappin stressed that BOP staff needs to be mindful of inmates
who are at risk, either as victims or predators; he stated that prevention of sexual abuse relies on
following basic correctional practices, which include observing inmates’ interactions,
communicating with inmates effectively, noting behavior changes, and monitoring the
institutional environment.80

69

Id.
Id.
71
Id.
72
Id.
73
Id. 4.
74
Id.
75
Id. 5.
76
Id.
77
Id.
78
Id. 6.
79
Id.
80
Id.
70

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

Inmates learn about their rights and responsibilities in preventing sexually abusive behavior
during orientation; they learn about prevention strategies, methods for reporting incidents,
treatment, and the consequences for perpetrators.81 They also receive this information in written
form.82
In elaborating on his prepared remarks, Mr. Lappin noted the importance at BOP of having
separate oversight teams to keep individual facilities accountable:
We’re blessed in the Bureau of Prisons as large as we are that we can have a
separate oversight group. So the warden, even though he’s practicing this
[sexual-abuse prevention] policy every day, he also knows in the back of his mind
that several times a year, a team of people are going to come in there and they’re
going to look at the policy. They’re going to look at the incidents where there is a
sexual, physical or verbal assault, or an escape or whatever, and somebody’s
going to critique what occurred . . . [and] make some recommendations as to what
you need to do to improve upon the adherence of that policy in the future.83
In his testimony before the Panel, Mr. John Shartle, Warden of the Federal Correctional
Institution in Fairton, New Jersey, and former Warden of FCI Elkton, noted in particular the
importance of creating a prison culture that treats seriously every allegation related to sexual
victimization of an inmate.84 Mr. Shartle said, “Every allegation is taken extremely seriously.
Whether you think this inmate is manipulative or not, that’s not your decision to make.”85 Mr.
Shartle said that the key word in creating a prison culture that does not tolerate the sexual abuse
of inmates is “buy-in” from staff members at every level of the organization:
[W]hat you need is buy-in, not just from the management staff and the executive
staff, but from the correctional officer who is walking through the unit and just
sort of senses that something is wrong or the case manager who’s talking to the
inmate and they seem a little distracted and they have that sixth sense to sort of
pursue that and find out if something is going on. And once they have that
awareness that something is going on, again, the protocols kick in . . . it has been
my experience, in my twenty-plus years of experience with the Bureau of Prisons,
that I have not been witness to one case where somebody just said, “You know
what, that was nothing.” When there’s even the slightest sense of it, it kicks in.86
In responding to questions from the Panel about the protocols FCI Elkton employs to respond to
an allegation of sexual victimization, Mr. Kevin Schwinn, Chief of Intelligence for the Central
Office of the BOP, stated that the procedures are similar regardless of whether the alleged assault
involves another inmate or a staff member.87 When a staff member initially receives a report of
sexual victimization, regardless of what form it may take, the notice triggers an institutional
81

Id. 8.
Id.
83
Tr., H. Lappin, 241:19-242:9.
84
Id., J. Shartle, 237:2-19.
85
Id. 237:14-16, 266:2-20.
86
Id. 237:21-238:14.
87
Id., K. Schwinn, 243:2-5.
82

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

response.88 The staff member notifies the operations lieutenant, the chief of correctional
services, the local investigator, and the Special Investigative Support office, which then
immediately launches an investigation.89 Also within minutes of a reported sexual incident, staff
members notify the warden.90 The institution then reassigns the alleged victim to a safe area
while the investigation proceeds.91 Departing from its past practices and in keeping with the
recommendations of the Commission,92 the BOP advises wardens to consider thoughtfully the
reassignment of alleged victims, to weigh other options other than automatically placing the
alleged victim in segregation.93 Staff members collect as much evidence as possible at the scene
in accordance with FBI procedures.94 The facility sends the alleged victim to the medical unit
for an initial evaluation; once that is complete, the warden will authorize the inmate’s transfer to
a local hospital for the administration of a rape kit.95 The facility maintains the rape kit as
evidence in the event of future prosecution.96
Mr. Lappin noted that BOP investigators are already relying on the Commission’s work, using a
PREA checklist in the investigative process.97 According to Mr. Lappin, having local PREA
coordinators in facilities, along with coordinators in regional offices and at the central office,
contributes to the BOP’s ability to audit the investigative process.98
Dr. Paul Clifford, Chief Psychologist at FCI Elkton, stated that following an alleged sexual
assault, mental health workers receive notification as soon as possible so that they can make an
immediate assessment of the effects of trauma on the alleged victim—this assessment takes
place, in accordance with established policy, within twenty-four hours of the alleged incident.99
The psychological assessment includes an evaluation of the alleged victim’s suicide risk.100
Psychological services quickly identify the treatment needs of the alleged victim, ranging from
immediate care to long-term follow up.101
If an alleged sexual assault comes to the attention of FCI Elkton staff a significant time after the
alleged incident, staff members who learn of the allegation still immediately contact
psychological services.102 In dealing with an incident that occurred after a lapse of time, the
facility follows the same protocols it does in dealing with an alleged sexual assault that had just
88

Id. 243:6-8.
Id. 243:10-14.
90
Id. 251:17.
91
Id. 244:6-7.
92
Nat’l Standards, 76 Fed. Reg. at 6282 (§ 115.66).
93
Tr., H. Lappin, 260:15-261:7; see app. D (Memorandum from D. Scott Dodrill, Assistant Director, Correctional
Program Division (CPD), BOP, to Chief Executive Officers (Oct. 12, 2011) (Inmate Sexual Abuse Follow-up)
(citing Memorandum from D. Scott Dodrill, Assistant Director, CPD, BOP, to Chief Executive Officers (Oct. 16,
2009) and Sexual Abusive Behavior Prevention Intervention Program, P5324.06 (Apr. 27, 2005))).
94
Tr., K. Schwinn, 244:11-16.
95
Id. 245:2-7.
96
Id. 245:8-9.
97
Id., H. Lappin, 260:1-6.
98
Id. 260:7-14.
99
Id., P. Clifford, 247:3-19.
100
Id. 247:15.
101
Id. 247:16-19.
102
Id., K. Schwinn, 254:3-17.
89

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

taken place; the only difference is that investigators will be less able to collect physical
evidence.103 Whether the lapse of time would make the administration of a rape kit unproductive
is a question that the BOP defers to the FBI.104
Dr. Clifford testified that the low incidence of reported sexual victimization at FCI Elkton may
be attributed to “culture and continuum,” meaning that the institutional environment is based on
good correctional practices, which extend not only to recruiting and training staff but also to
fostering professional behavior that may not be directly related to implementing PREA.105
According to Dr. Clifford, among those good correctional practices are the maintenance of
professional boundaries between staff and inmates, which includes taking care to keep desks and
bulletin boards free of inappropriate materials and avoiding abusive language in dealing with
inmates.106 Dr. Clifford said that a proactive approach was key, noting that the phrase repairing
“broken windows” captures this idea: when an institution tends to minor infractions, similar to
fixing a broken window, it communicates to staff and inmates a commitment, along a continuum,
to address larger, more serious issues.107
iii.

Observations

In reviewing the testimony from administrators from FCI Elkton, its response to the Data
Request, and the information that the Panel gathered through an onsite visit to the facility, the
Panel would like to underscore three general principles that appear to have contributed to the low
incidence of sexual victimization at the prison.
First, BOP has implemented managerial practices that promote facility oversight. The BOP has
more than just a policy that addresses sexual victimization of inmates; it has put into place
procedures that evaluate whether a facility has put the policy into practice. A review team
periodically visits each facility to examine how it deals with allegations of sexual victimization
and how the staff has responded. The BOP not only has PREA coordinators at the facility level,
but it also has PREA coordinators at the regional and central-office levels to serve as a check and
balance on the work of the facility coordinator. If there were a break-down in a facility’s
response to incidents of sexual victimization, the BOP has put into place a system designed to
identify the problem and correct it.
Second, the BOP takes seriously the issue of developing an institutional culture that prevents
sexual victimization. This is apparent through a number of institutional practices, which include
treating every allegation of sexual victimization as being important rather than dismissing some
claims based on a prejudgment of the complainant’s credibility or motives, avoiding abusive
language in interactions with inmates, cultivating in the staff an attentiveness to subtle warnings
103

Id.
Id., H. Lappin, 257:19-158:1.
105
Tr., P. Clifford, 262:2-15.
106
Id. 262:9-15, 262:17-263:5.
107
Id. 263:6-14. Although Dr. Clifford did not cite the work of George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson in his
testimony, he was referring to the broken-windows theory of community policing that they formulated. See George
L. Kelling & James Q. Wilson, Broken Windows: The Police and Neighborhood Safety, ATLANTIC MONTHLY, Mar.
1982 at 29-38, available at http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/03/broken-windows/4465/.
104

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

that may indicate sexually abuse behavior, and encouraging the staff at all organizational levels
to buy in to the shared responsibility to identify and report sexual victimization.
Third, consistent with the draft PREA standards, the BOP’s policy to consider alternatives to
administrative segregation in housing inmates alleging sexual victimization avoids a practice that
has often resulted in punishing victims. Consequently, inmates may be more likely to report
incidents of sexual victimization.
b.

Bridgeport
i.

Facility Description

Bridgeport, located in Bridgeport, Texas, is a minimum security female facility operated by the
CCA under a contract with the TDCJ. The facility at its full rated capacity houses 200 inmates,
and on January 1, 2008, and on January 1, 2009, the facility was at full capacity.108 The average
length of stay for inmates at Bridgeport in calendar year 2008 was 190 days;109 the average
length of stay in calendar year 2009 was 191 days.110 The longest length of stay of any inmate at
Bridgeport in calendar year 2008 was 1761 days;111 the longest length of stay in calendar year
2009 was 1476 days.112 The total number of inmates who spent any time at Bridgeport in
calendar year 2008 was 588,113 consisting of 289 Whites, 160 African Americans, 136 Hispanics,
1 Asian, and 1 Alaska Native or American Indian.114 The total number of inmates who spent any
time at Bridgeport in 2009 was 565,115 consisting of 286 Whites, 141 African Americans, 136
Hispanics, 1 Asian, and 1 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.116
The total number of authorized staff positions at Bridgeport at full capacity on January 1, 2008,
and on January 1, 2009, was sixty-one.117 On January 1, 2008, Bridgeport staffing consisted of
fourteen custody staff members and three non-custody staff members.118 On January 1, 2009,
Bridgeport staff consisted of fifteen custody staff members and five non-custody staff
members.119 The ratio of custody staff members to offenders on January 1, 2008, and on January
1, 2009, was one to eleven.120
In calendar years 2008 and 2009, no Bridgeport inmates either attempted or committed
suicide.121 There were also no allegations of sexual abuse of any type at Bridgeport in calendar
years 2008 and 2009.122
108

Bridgeport Resp. 9(a)-(b), 10(a)-(b) (on file with the Panel).
Id. 9(g).
110
Id. 10(g).
111
Id. 9(h).
112
Id. 10(h).
113
Id. 9(f).
114
Id. 11. Bridgeport did not account for the racial and ethnic background of one inmate.
115
Id. 10(f).
116
Id. 12.
117
Id. 23(a), 24(a).
118
Id. 23(d)(i).
119
Id. 24(d)(i).
120
Id. 25(a), (e).
121
Id. 13(a)-(b), 15(a)-(b).
109

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

ii.

Facility’s Explanation for Reported Low
Incidence of Sexual Victimization

Mr. Steven Conry, who serves as the PREA coordinator for CCA, linked the low incidence of
sexual victimization at Bridgeport to three broader strategies that the CCA has adopted to
eliminate sexual abuse in its correctional facilities: (1) working on prevention, (2) exceeding
contract requirements with government partners related to the current draft of the national PREA
standards, and (3) improving policies and practices.123 Mr. Conry noted that CCA has taken a
number of steps to prevent sexual victimization of inmates in its facilities. The CCA has
appointed a corporate PREA committee, and each time the CCA learns about an allegation of
sexual abuse at one of its facilities, the committee convenes within forty-eight hours of the
incident and holds a conference call with administrators at the facility to discuss the incident and
make sure that the facility is adhering to the CCA’s PREA policy in regard to the investigative
process and the treatment of the alleged victim.124 The CCA has also worked to install at most of
its facilities a digital platform for the telephone system that will alert a warden if an inmate calls
a staff member’s home or mobile telephone.125 The CCA is conducting a PREA vulnerability
assessment of all of its facilities nationwide; it has already completed an assessment of its female
facilities and it is in the process of completing an assessment of its male facilities.126 The CCA
is investing in recording systems, cameras, and signage to prevent sexual abuse at its facilities.127
Although it has not as yet been successful, the CCA is also sponsoring psychological research to
develop a screening instrument for prospective employees that would identify individuals with
predatory tendencies.128 The CCA has also retained independent outside groups to audit its
facilities and to make recommendations on how it could improve its operations to prevent the
sexual victimization of inmates.129
Ms. Mary Brandin, Warden of Bridgeport, testified that the hard work of her staff, combined
with the support of the CCA and TDCJ, contributed to the low incidence of sexual victimization
at her facility.130 She said that even though there is a sound program in place at Bridgeport, the
biggest challenge is not to become complacent.131 She noted that it is important for
administrators to guard against thinking that there are no problems on their units: “[t]o do so
would mean that you are not looking at the situation with an open mind.”132 Warden Brandin
volunteered that to be effective, prison officials have to be willing to be open to information
from staff that she categorized as “hard to hear.”133

122

Id. 29(a).
Tr., S. Conry, 283:3-14.
124
Id. 284:6-22; see also id., M. Brandin, 303:1-13.
125
Id., S. Conry, 285:7-12.
126
Id. 285:12-19.
127
Id. 285:20-286:5.
128
Id. 286:21-287:6.
129
Id. 287:7-14.
130
Id., M. Brandin, 288:12-18.
131
Id. 288:19-289:3.
132
Id. 293:15-21.
133
Id. 293:21-294:3.
123

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

Warden Brandin testified that based on her prior experience working for almost twenty years in
male facilities, she would characterize female correctional institutions as significantly
different.134 She said that one has to be aware in working with a female population that
“everything that they do is emotion-based . . . .”135 Consequently, Warden Brandin said that it is
important to have programming that keeps the inmates busy and focused on what is important to
them, which means having them keep in mind not only their upcoming release dates but also the
lives they will lead beyond the release dates:
[W]hat we preach to them is who you are. It’s not so much what you are. You
are an inmate, but it’s who you are. You are a mother, a sister, a daughter, a
grandmother, and you need to focus on that and you need to better yourself on
that.136
Warden Brandin said that in male facilities inmates may join groups that pose a security threat,
whereas in female facilities the inmates tend to form family cliques.137 Bridgeport administrators
have let inmates know that creating in-house surrogate families is an unacceptable way to obtain
the attention and affection that many crave.138 Warden Brandin noted that one of the ways in
which Bridgeport discourages family cliques is through programming that gives inmates unitwide recognition; one example of such programming is the production of a talent show.139 The
intent of these programs is to boost an inmate’s sense of self-respect with the hope that there will
be less need to seek one-on-one attention.140
Echoing the testimony of Mr. Shartle, the former warden at FCI Elkton, Warden Brandin
observed that it was important to have staff members who are attentive to the needs of inmates:
It’s very important that your staff are able to recognize a change or a sway in
behavior or attitude, and I think that we have excellent staff who have been able
to recognize any type of immediate mood, physical/emotional/behavioral change
and openly report . . . that to the administration and to their supervisors, and then
from there, we pull in the offender and express to them our concern for their wellbeing.141
Warden Brandin said that Bridgeport had an excellent education system for both staff members
and offenders so that both would know the consequences of violating the facility’s policies
related to sexual misconduct.142 She also said that there is a great need to train new staff
members who come to Bridgeport whose only prior experience was working in male facilities.143
Warden Brandin said that she will often have a one-on-one briefing with these new staff
134

Id. 313:16-21.
Id. 292:14-15.
136
Id. 294:17-22.
137
Id. 311:21-312:3.
138
Id. 312:3-14.
139
Id. 312:15-20, 313:1-4.
140
Id. 312:20-313:4.
141
Id. 292:18-293:4.
142
Id. 292:7-11.
143
Id. 314:6-11.
135

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

members to discuss their experience in working at a women’s facility, where, according to
Warden Brandin, the inmates, in comparison with men, tend to be more emotional, self-involved,
and unwilling to let an issue drop.144 She said that she will often sit down with the new staff
members every two weeks to see how they are adjusting to the new environment.145
Warden Brandin said that she will also often counsel staff members to use the facility’s
surveillance cameras to their advantage, instructing them to interact with inmates in view of the
cameras so as to protect themselves from any possible future allegations of misconduct.146
One of the distinctive features of Bridgeport, contributing to its low incidence of sexual
victimization, is its no-touch policy.147 Warden Brandin explained that Bridgeport does not
allow any form of touching among inmates:
[T]here are no handshakes. There is no hugging. There is no patting on the back.
There is no sitting there at the dayroom table with your hand on her knee. It is not
acceptable and we approach it [as] a manner of professionalism. You’re here to
go to school. You’re here to meet goals. You’re here to meet a certain parole
presumptive date. You have a job to do. You do your job. We’ll do our job. If
you don’t do so well in your job, then we will follow through with our job.148
Warden Brandin said that in one of her quarterly discussions with inmates, the topic was PREA
and the prevention of sexual abuse.149 During the discussion, the inmates agreed that if she as
the warden gave them an inch, they would take a mile; so when it comes to touching, having a
clear boundary prevents any confusion about what is appropriate behavior.150 Warden Brandin
said, “[I]t starts with a handshake. It starts with a hug. It starts with a hand on the knee, and . . .
it progresses into something that could create a violation or is a violation.”151
iii.

Observations

In reflecting on the testimony and the data response from Bridgeport, as well as the onsite visit,
the Panel takes note of five broad issues that may relate to Bridgeport’s success in having a low
incidence of inmate sexual victimization: (1) the culture of the women’s facility, (2) the
relatively small size of the institution, (3) the rapport between the warden and her staff, (4) the
select population and the effectiveness of incentives, and (5) the challenge of the no-touch
policy.
Women’s prisons appear to have interpersonal dynamics that are significantly different than male
facilities.152 To their credit, the warden and administration of Bridgeport are mindful of this
144

Id. 314:11-16.
Id. 314:17-315:3.
146
Id. 315:4-10.
147
Id. 308:19.
148
Id. 310:4-13.
149
Id. 310:14-21.
150
Id. 310:21-311:3.
151
Id. 311:5-9.
152
See infra Part II.A.2.a.iii.(a).
145

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

difference, which has far-reaching effects, from the training provided to staff to the daily
interactions with inmates.
Given Bridgeport’s relatively small size, the Panel anticipates that other facilities may dismiss its
success as difficult to replicate in prisons that may be ten or more times larger. Without in any
way diminishing Bridgeport’s achievement—as few other facilities of the same size and security
level were able to match its no-incident results, the Panel notes that prison size in itself may be a
significant factor in reducing the incidence of inmate sexual victimization. This conclusion is
consistent with the Panel’s previous report on juvenile justice facilities, in which it found a
correlation between small facilities and reduced incidents of sexual victimization.153
Based on the onsite visit and the warden’s testimony, the Panel found that one of the
distinguishing characteristics of Bridgeport was the rapport that the warden had with her staff. In
addition to meeting with the staff regularly, she has one-on-one debriefings with new hires to
guide them in adjusting to the unique dynamics of a women’s facility. To her credit, the warden
is also open to listening to the staff, knowing that the most important information is often the
most difficult to hear.
Bridgeport is undoubtedly unlike many other prisons in the BJS survey in that its inmates are
screened for its programming based on their success at other state facilities and a release date
within six months. Given that inmate misconduct risks a delayed release date as well as transfer
back to another state facility, inmates have clear incentives to comply with the rules of the
institution. While these particular dynamics might not be replicable in other institutions, the
Panel notes that tailored incentives to discourage sexual impropriety may play a key role in
controlling inmate behavior that contributes to sexual victimization.
Bridgeport’s no-touch policy invites further consideration. Although the Panel was at first
inclined to view the policy as too restrictive, it is unaware of alternative approaches at other
female facilities that have been able to match Bridgeport’s level of success in eliminating inmate
sexual victimization.154 There is a need, however, for a careful study of Bridgeport’s “no-touch
policy” to determine its correlation with reported reduced rates of inmate sexual victimization.
2.

High-Incidence Prisons
a.

Fluvanna
i.

Facility Description

Fluvanna, located in Troy, Virginia, and operated by VADOC, is Virginia’s maximum-security
prison for women.155 The number of inmates at Fluvanna at its full rated capacity on January 1,

153

Review Panel on Prison Rape, Report on Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Correctional Facilities 34-35 (Oct.
2010), available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs/panel_report_101014.pdf [hereinafter Juvenile
Justice Report].
154
See infra Part II.A.2.a.iii.(a).
155
Tr., J. Jabe, 120:5-7.

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

2008, and on January 1, 2009, was 1257.156 The actual number of inmates housed at Fluvanna
on January 1, 2008, was 1190.157 In calendar year 2008, the total number of inmates who spent
any time at Fluvanna was 1568;158 the average length of stay was 30 months;159 and the longest
stay of any inmate was 309.6 months.160 On January 1, 2009, the actual number of inmates
housed at Fluvanna was 1212.161 In calendar year 2009, the total number of inmates who spent
any time at Fluvanna was 1352;162 the average length of stay was 31.7 months;163 and the longest
stay of any inmate was 217.6 months.164
In 2008, the racial and ethnic composition of the total inmate population at Fluvanna was 802
Whites, 750 African Americans, 8 Hispanics, 4 Asians, and 3 unknown.165 In 2009, the racial
and ethnic composition of the total inmate population at Fluvanna was 695 Whites, 644 African
Americans, 9 Hispanics, 2 Asians, and 2 unknown.166
On January 1, 2008, the total number of authorized positions at Fluvanna was 372 (318 filled and
54 vacant), which included 285 security staff (239 filled and 46 vacant) and 87 non-security staff
(80 filled and 7 vacant).167 The actual staffing level on January 1, 2008, was 318 (238 sworn and
80 non-sworn).168 On January 1, 2009, the total number of authorized positions at Fluvanna was
372 (329 filled and 43 vacant), which included 285 security staff (247 filled and 38 vacant) and
87 non-security staff (83 filled and 4 vacant).169 The actual staffing level on January 1, 2009,
was 329 (246 sworn and 83 non-sworn).170 On January 1, 2008, and on January 1, 2009, the
staff-to-inmate ratio was one to five.171
In calendar years 2008 and 2009, Fluvanna did not designate a PREA coordinator.172
In 2008 and 2009, there were no suicides at Fluvanna, but in each year there were three suicide
attempts.173 There was no evidence to connect the six suicide attempts to sexual victimization.174
In calendar years 2008 and 2009, there were nine inmate grievances alleging inmate-on-inmate
sexual victimization.175 The charges included sexual assault and rape.176 Of the nine charges,
156

Fluvanna Resp. 9(a), 10(a) (on file with the Panel).
Id. 9(b).
158
Id. 9(f).
159
Id. 9(g).
160
Id. 9(h).
161
Id. 10(b).
162
Id. 10(f).
163
Id. 10(g).
164
Id. 10(h).
165
Id. 11. Fluvanna did not account for the racial and ethnic background of one inmate.
166
Id. 12.
167
Id. 23(a)-(c).
168
Id. 23(d)-(f).
169
Id. 24(a)-(b).
170
Id. 24(d)-(f).
171
Id. 24(d)-(f), 25(a).
172
Id. (noting that the institutional investigator coordinated PREA-related issues in the absence of a designated
PREA coordinator).
173
Id. 13(a)-(b), 15(a)-(b).
174
Id. 14, 16.
157

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

five were not sustained; one investigation was inconclusive; one rape charge was sustained,
resulting in the perpetrator receiving ten days in isolated confinement and referral to the
Commonwealth’s Attorney for prosecution; in one charge involving unwanted touching, both
inmates received discipline of ten days in isolated confinement; and in one charge against a
fellow inmate for making sexual advances, the charge was sustained and the perpetrator received
fifteen days of disciplinary segregation.177
In 2008 and 2009, there were six inmate grievances alleging staff-on-inmate sexual
victimization.178 All of the charges alleged sexual assault.179 Of the six charges, all but one were
not sustained, inconclusive, or unfounded.180 One grievance resulted in a finding of
fraternization between a male staff member and a female inmate, but the more serious charge of
carnal knowledge was not sustained.181
ii.

Facility’s Explanation for Reported High
Incidence of Sexual Victimization

In written testimony, Mr. Harold W. Clarke, Director of the VADOC, stated that the reported
high incidence of staff-on-inmate sexual victimization that the BJS Report identified at Fluvanna
should be understood in light of allegations that surfaced in 2007 involving the facility’s former
chief of security.182 Ultimately, the chief of security stood trial in 2008 and was convicted of
engaging in sexual acts with female offenders at Fluvanna.183 Mr. Clarke noted that VADOC
investigated these incidents and the perpetrator was disciplined, terminated, and charged under
Virginia law.184 Mr. Clarke observed, “Due to his high position in [Fluvanna’s] management,
confidence in the leadership and management of the facility was lost. Therefore, when the
surveys were completed the offenders based their responses on issues which occurred during
2007.”185
Mr. Clarke conceded that there were a number of factors that led to the former chief of security’s
sexual misconduct, including the lack of supervision, the distance of the chief of security’s office
from his supervisor’s office, the chief of security’s office having an unmonitored entrance,
inadequate procedures for tracking the movement of inmates, the lack of strategically located
surveillance cameras, the chief of security’s work schedule extending beyond business hours, his
working behind closed doors, no protocols for male staff working alone with female offenders, a
staff who feared retaliation for reporting the sexual misconduct of a supervisor, inadequate
175

App. C (Fluvanna Inmate-on-Inmate Assaults).
Id.
177
Id.
178
Id. (Fluvanna Staff-on-Inmate Assaults).
179
Id.
180
Id.
181
Id. (Incident 3).
182
As Mr. Clarke was unable to appear before the Panel, he provided a sworn, written response to questions that the
Panel sent to him in writing. See Clarke Test. 1(a) (Apr. 18, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_apr11/testimony_clarke.pdf.
183
Id.
184
Id.
185
Id.
176

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

training for staff, the dismissal of complaints from offenders, and poor communication at various
levels within the organization.186
Mr. Clarke also testified that the following factors related to offenders may have contributed to
the high incidence of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization that the BJS Report identified at
Fluvanna:
●

Lack of knowledge of PREA and the process for reporting incidents,

●

Fear of retaliation for reporting sexual victimization,

●

Fear of being placed in administrative segregation during the investigation
of a reported incident,

●

Lack of trust in the staff to handle properly allegations of sexual
victimization, and

●

Fear of the staff’s labeling an offender as a consenting participant in a
sexual relationship with another inmate.187

Mr. Clarke also stated that short staffing during the early morning and late evening hours, when
most incidents occur, may have contributed to the high incidence of reported inmate-on-inmate
sexual victimization at Fluvanna.188 He asserted that VADOC believes that some consensual
sexual relationships among inmates were improperly classified as PREA violations.189
The Panel notes that in the wake of the sexual scandal at Fluvanna, VADOC took action to
address the problem, replacing both the warden, who retired, and the chief of security, who was
sent to prison, and appointing a committee in July of 2009 to investigate the facility and make
recommendations for improving its management.190 When the committee ultimately released its
report, among other issues, it addressed management styles and practices at Fluvanna and
reviewed whether inmate housing assignments were related to sexual orientation.191
The committee found that the chief of security at the time192 had tried to enhance security
measures at the facility, but the committee had concerns with his management style, noting his
use of inappropriate language with offenders and low staff morale:
Interviews revealed that the [chief of security] and key administrators were
ineffective in their communication of changes to operational procedures. Input
186

Id.
Id. 1(b).
188
Id.
189
Id.
190
See Fluvanna Managerial Review Final Report (Jan. 4, 2010) (on file with the Panel) [hereinafter Fluvanna
Report].
191
Fluvanna Report 1.
192
The Panel learned after the April 2011 hearings that the security chief at Fluvanna at the time of the Panel’s
onsite visit and hearings subsequently left this position. This chief of security should not be confused with his
predecessor who was convicted of sexual misconduct.
187

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

from impacted staff and others was not obtained before the implementation of
changes which has led to low morale of staff, offenders, and volunteers.
According to staff . . . [the chief of security’s] management practices lack a
contemporary participatory style and staff feels uncomfortable in approaching the
[chief of security]. There were multiple complaints concerning the [chief of
security’s] use of inappropriate language in some of his interactions with staff and
volunteers.193
In testimony before the Panel, Mr. John Jabe, Deputy Director of Operations at VADOC, stated
that he doubted the accuracy of the Fluvanna Report as it pertained to the alleged complaints
against the chief of security.194 He sensed that the former warden and her staff did not like the
way the new chief of security implemented VADOC policies; consequently, Mr. Jabe believed
that the negative comments about the chief of security that appeared in the Fluvanna Report were
inaccurate.195
Based on an article published by the Associated Press claiming that Building 5D at Fluvanna was
a “butch wing,” where the facility allegedly segregated offenders based on their masculine
physical appearance and sexual orientation,196 the committee investigated housing practices at
Fluvanna and concluded that there was no factual evidence to support this news story.197
Among the recommendations that the committee made were the following:
●

Staff should have additional training on working with female offenders;

●

Administrators needed training on effective communication and
leadership;

●

Staff should be consulted before the facility implemented policy changes;

●

The administration should develop facility expectations and communicate
them to all staffing levels;

●

The facility should clarify staff roles in the operation of the facility;

●

The administration should apply policies consistently, and

●

The facility should implement an equitable system to make special
programming available to all offenders.198

Ms. Wendy Hobbs, the current warden at Fluvanna, who took leadership of the facility in
December of 2009,199 stated that problems at Fluvanna were the result of poor security
193

Id. 4.
Tr., J. Jabe, 204:10-205:3; but see infra notes 251 and 274.
195
Tr., J. Jabe, 205:7-10, 12.
196
Dena Potter, Women’s Prison Said to Have Segregated Lesbians, Others, WASH. TIMES, June 11, 2009, available
at http://www.washingtontimes.com.
197
Fluvanna Report 6-7.
198
Id. 9.
199
Tr., W. Hobbs, 133:1.
194

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

measures.200 When she was the warden at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women in
Goochland, Virginia, Warden Hobbs served on the committee that investigated Fluvanna.201
Warden Hobbs assured the Panel that the administration at Fluvanna takes incidents of sexual
victimization at the facility seriously, investigating any allegations, taking statements from both
the alleged victim and alleged perpetrator, and providing medical services as needed.202
Warden Hobbs said that one of her priorities at Fluvanna is to increase the number of female
security staff, which is not as high as she would like.203 She said that she would like to increase
the percentage of female security officers from the current percentage, which is fifty-three, to at
least seventy.204 She said that there is no cross-gender supervision at Fluvanna.205
Warden Hobbs said that she is trying to create a culture at Fluvanna where inmates would feel
free to report sexual victimization and where the staff understands its professional obligation to
report sexual victimization.206 She testified that in investigating an allegation of inmate-oninmate sexual assault, “both inmates are put into investigative hold . . . .”207 She said that even
though this is a form of segregation, she cautioned that one should distinguish between
protective segregation during an investigation and segregation as punishment.208 Still, Warden
Hobbs acknowledged that alleged victims may spend weeks in segregation during an
investigation.209 She said that even though placement in segregation during an investigation is
not punishment, inmates understandably perceive it as so because they are removed from the
general population.210
Warden Hobbs said that Fluvanna places the alleged victim of staff sexual misconduct in
segregation during an investigation to control the communication between the staff person and
the inmate, to make sure that they are not coordinating their stories to undermine the integrity of
the investigation.211 In the coming year, Warden Hobbs said that she plans to provide training to
staff on working with female inmates and revamping a master pass list so that women do not
miss participation in programming.212

200

Id. 131:16-18.
Id. 130:10-11, 131:7-13.
202
Id. 132:12-21.
203
Id. 133:15-17.
204
Id. 133:19-20, 133:22-134:1.
205
Id. 134:8-14.
206
Id. 135:9-21.
207
Id. 136:1.
208
Id. 136:2-10.
209
Id. 136:11-16.
210
Id. 139:20-140:4.
211
Id. 142:3-19.
212
Id. 191:9-11, 14-21.
201

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

iii.

Observations
(a)

The Distinctive Dynamics of Women’s
Prisons

The Panel invited testimony from Dr. Barbara Owen, Professor of Criminology at the California
State University at Fresno, to provide perspective on the unique dynamics of female correctional
institutions, such as Bridgeport and Fluvanna.213 She stated, “[Y]ou have to pay separate
attention to the issues of women or they get lost in the discussion of men.”214 Dr. Owen noted
that consistent with the BJS Report, prior victimization contributes to the cycle of violence
among women.215 Using an ecological model suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Dr. Owen stated that “[m]ultiple organizational, environmental and individual
factors contribute to violence in women’s facilities . . . the dynamic interplay between individual,
relational, community, facility and societal factors create and sustain violence potentials in
women’s jails and prisons.”216
Dr. Owen observed that women who come from dysfunctional families, where emotional support
is not available or where the primary caregivers may be violent or exploitative, may struggle
with developing healthy relationships in adulthood.217 “One of the most consistent findings has
been that female offenders are more likely than male offenders to have experienced violent
victimization in childhood, and much more likely to have experienced violent victimization than
non-incarcerated women.”218 A prison sentence may trigger earlier trauma, aggravating the
symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).219 Although it is unclear why women who
have been prior victims of sexual abuse are more likely to be targets for recurrent victimization,
for “incarcerated women, it is most probably due to a variety of risky behaviors and their
tendency to become involved with abusive partners and engage in high-risk sexual behavior.”220
According to Dr. Owen, one of the key concepts in understanding women’s prisons is “that the
primary motivation for women throughout life is not separation, but connection. Women’s
emotional development is dependent upon relationships and when women feel disconnected
from others, they experience disempowerment, confusion, and anxiety.”221 Dr. Owen confirmed
prior testimony that the cultures in men’s and women’s prisons differ significantly.222 She
observed, “Women’s sexual relationships are described as usually consensual rather than
coercive; unlike men, women sometimes develop pseudo-families as a result of these
relationships.”223 Dr Owen noted that “some of the inmate-inmate violence that we see in the
prisons can be thought of as interpersonal violence . . . replicating domestic violence.”224
213

Owen Test. (Apr. 26, 2011), available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_apr11/testimony_owen.pdf
Tr., B. Owen, 90:8-10.
215
Owen Test. 1.
216
Id. 2.
217
Id.
218
Id. 3.
219
Id. 4.
220
Id.
221
Id. 3.
222
Id.
223
Id. 4.
224
Tr., B. Owen, 98:2-5.
214

22

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

Dr. Owen noted female offenders are not all the same, and the reasons for their engaging in
sexual activity while in prison vary considerably:
[F]emale inmates are not a homogenous group of passive victims. Some do fall in
love with correctional officers, some actively exploit male or female officers who
fall in love with them, and some willingly participate in sexual banter. If it is true
that female inmates actively seek out sexual relationships with male staff
members, it may be the case that such relationships are truly consensual; or it may
be that such relationships can be understood as the tactics of the oppressed, a
result of sexualized identity and low self image because of childhood sexual
abuse, or a result of gender socialization.225
In any case, Dr. Owen testified that any official reports of sexual victimization of female inmates
are certain to be lower than the actual numbers, as the consequences for reporting a sexual
assault are too high for both the inmate and the staff member.226
To improve the safety of women inmates, Dr. Owen asserts that it is important to consider both
the individual as well as the place of confinement in analyzing the factors that increase the risk
of sexual victimization, noting that “safety and violence have different meanings for female and
male inmates.”227 Dr. Owen suggests that correctional institutions should broaden the definition
of safety in considering female inmates to include “physical, psychological, social, moral, and
ethical safety.”228 She writes, “Expanding on these broader components of safety for female
offenders directs our attention not only to improving safety in women’s facilities, but also
supports successful re-integration and rehabilitation.”229
In fashioning recommendations to reduce institutional violence, Dr. Owen, referring again to the
ecological model, offered suggestions for improvement in three broad categories: individual
factors, relationship factors, and community and facility factors.230
In regard to individual factors, she suggests that correctional facilities should provide training to
staff on trauma and responding to trauma, including PTSD, and understanding the impact
domestic and intimate-partner violence may have on offenders.231 Correctional institutions
should have the capacity to provide treatment to inmates who experienced violence prior to
incarceration as well as to inmates who experience violence while incarcerated.232
In regard to relationship factors, Dr. Owen encourages correctional institutions to have frank
discussions with inmates during orientation about the benefits and consequences of developing
relationships with other inmates.233 The orientation should touch on alternative ways for women
to develop healthy relationships with each other and to identify and develop healthy relationship
225

Owen Test. 5-6.
Id. 6.
227
Id.
228
Id.
229
Id.
230
Id. 7-8.
231
Id. 7.
232
Id.
233
Id. 8.
226

23

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

boundaries.234 Correctional facilities should also provide constructive programming for inmates,
which may include education on conflict management, the warning signs and components of
domestic and intimate-partner violence, the mechanisms to promote personal safety, and the
ways to break the cycle of violence.235
In regard to community and facility factors, Dr. Owen wrote that it is important for correctional
institutions to evaluate the level of violence tolerated in the facility, which includes whether the
staff sexually harasses inmates, whether the management has a rehabilitative or custodial
approach, and whether verbal and nonverbal interactions with female inmates are either
respectful or degrading.236 Dr. Owen wrote that it is important for correctional facilities to have
clear policies against verbal, physical, or sexual misconduct.237 Among other recommendations,
she suggested that correctional facilities implement processes for reporting and investigating
sexual victimization that protect confidentiality, provide treatment to victims, and refer them to
appropriate services.238 She wrote that prisons should require staff training on “genderappropriate ways to manage female offenders, with a particular emphasis on respecting female
inmates, understanding the role of trauma and victimization as a pathway to prison/jail, sexual
harassment, and staff sexual misconduct.”239 She also noted that staff training should address
negative attitudes toward women, especially stereotypes about women in the criminal justice
system.240 Finally, Dr. Owen recommended that correctional institutions develop committees
that include the participation of female inmates, as well as the custody and treatment staffs, to
“implement innovative ideas to reduce institutional violence.”241
In elaborating on her written testimony, Dr. Owen observed that verbal harassment in prison is a
key indicator of the level of violence a correctional institution may tolerate:
Our findings show that both inmate-inmate victimization and staff sexual
misconduct occurs on a continuum, and when we take this prevention or
intervention approach, it’s almost like the broken windows philosophy of stop the
small stuff, and I think probably the most single indicator of that is staff verbal
harassment. When we hear the reports, again nationwide, of the terms that are
allowed to be used in addressing women, and I just want to footnote they’re often
used to address female staff as well, there’s a tolerance for that type of
language.242
Dr. Owen also suggested that there are two terms that are often part of the discussion of the
sexual victimization of women in prisons that require closer examination.243 She said that
thinking of women as “sexual predators” tends to be confusing, because based on her research,

234

Id.
Id.
236
Id.
237
Id.
238
Id. 9.
239
Id.
240
Id.
241
Id.
242
Tr., B. Owen, 92:16-93:4; see also supra note 107.
243
Tr., B. Owen, 99:2-3.
235

24

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

the roles of predator and victim are often interchangeable for women on an individual level.244
Dr. Owen also said that the term “manipulation” is an ill-fitting term in describing the
relationship between women offenders and staff members; she said that this language requires
more careful thought, otherwise it suggests that women are “magical creatures” who can make
people do things they might not otherwise want to do.245 Dr. Owen also observed that a common
term in discussing women’s prison is “drama,” which she believes is a stereotypical way of
dismissing women’s issues.246
Dr. Owen testified that violence in women’s prisons is rarely stranger violence; instead, it often
takes place within the context of a relationship with staff or with other inmates.247
(b)

Onsite Visit

In preparation for the hearings, the Panel toured Fluvanna on April 21, 2011. In listening to
inmates in the general population, the Panel heard a number of comments questioning the
wisdom of reporting sexual victimization to prison officials, as many perceived that reporting an
incident invariably led to segregation, which they saw as a form of punishment.248 One inmate
commented, “If you dial the PREA number, it’s a ticket to SEG.”249 Several inmates also
alleged that the correctional staff mistreated them.250 Some stated that the chief of security at the
time of the onsite visit used derogatory language in referring to them.251 Some of the inmates
also alleged that despite VADOC’s efforts to change the environment at Fluvanna, at least one
male officer in a supervisory position was still having sex with female inmates.252
The Panel learned that inmates receive training on PREA that lasts between thirty and forty-five
minutes.253 One inmate said, however, that she had not been to a PREA orientation in nine
years.254
The Panel witnessed one inmate in segregation who was being moved with what inmates called a
“dog leash” or “dog collar,” or what correctional officers referred to as a “tether strap” or
“control strap.”255 The tether strap is a restraining device that encircles an inmate’s waist, which
244

Id. 99:4-9.
Id. 99:10-16.
246
Id. 101:17-21.
247
Id. 103:20-104:3.
248
Interview with Wendy Hobbs, Warden, Fluvanna, et al. in Troy, Va. 1 (Apr. 21, 2011) (on file with the Panel)
[hereinafter Fluvanna Interview].
249
Id.
250
Id.
251
Id. 5.
252
Id.; see also Andrews Test. 2 (Apr. 26, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_apr11/testimony_andrews.pdf. Ms. Andrews’ testimony also appears in
the Transcript of Record. See Tr., M. Andrews, 36:20-50:7. During the onsite visit, the Panel heard inmate
allegations of sexual misconduct involving a lieutenant at Fluvanna. At the time of the visit, the Panel conveyed
these inmate complaints to Warden Hobbs. Since the Panel’s hearings on Fluvanna in April of 2011, the lieutenant
who was the subject of the inmates’ complaints has been arrested on three charges of carnal knowledge with a
prisoner. Crime Scene: Former Va. Guard Accused of Repeated Sex with Female Inmate, WASH. POST, Mar. 9,
2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/crime-scene/.
253
Fluvanna Interview 5.
254
Id.
255
Id. 1; Tr., M. Andrews, 52:2-4; id., D. Ratliffe-Walker, 156:1-3.
245

25

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

correctional staff use, along with hand and foot shackles, when moving inmates located in
segregated housing.256
During the hearing, in response to the Panel’s questions about the necessity of using the tether
strap in dealing with inmates in segregation, especially in balancing its usefulness relative to the
negative message it communicates to inmates, Mr. Jabe stated that VADOC will reevaluate its
policy on the use of the tether strap.257
During the onsite visit, the Panel learned about Fluvanna’s “honor wing,” housing that allows
inmates more privileges based on their good behavior.258
The Panel found that the investigators at Fluvanna had limited training in dealing with sexual
assault.259
(c)

Inmates and Trauma

Mr. Wayne Reed, the mental health director at Fluvanna, noted that at least half of the women at
Fluvanna have trauma histories and the facility has programming that works with women to
control symptoms associated with trauma.260 Mr. Nathan Young, the assistant director for
mental health at Fluvanna, said that all staff members receive annual training on mental health
issues.261 One of the elements of this training program is to remind staff members that PTSD is a
mental health diagnosis and that they need to be aware of the symptoms of this disorder,
especially in the way that female inmates may respond to correctional officers:262
[We] underscore that an offender’s response to an officer, if it’s negative or
disproportionate, . . . may not have anything to do with that situation or that
particular officer or those officers personally, but that the situation . . . or
something related to it may be triggering that response, which security staff may
interpret as being manipulative, [or] antisocial.263
Mr. Young said that eighty percent of the women at Fluvanna meet the diagnostic criteria for
PTSD or have symptoms of it; he noted that “basically the institution is a big trauma wing.”264
(d)

Testimony from Former Inmate and
Inmate Advocate

The Panel heard testimony from Ms. Melissa Andrews, who served eight-and-half years as an
inmate in the custody of VADOC. 265 She was incarcerated in 2002 and spent over a year at
Fluvanna from 2003 to 2004 before she was transferred to another facility.266 She returned to
256

Id., M. Frame, 156:17-21.
Id., J. Jabe, 163:13-19.
258
Fluvanna Interview 4.
259
Id., S. Horn, 181:22.
260
Id., W. Reed, 173:17-174:9; see supra note 219 (Owen Test.).
261
Tr., N. Young, 187:19-22.
262
Id. 188:2-4.
263
Id. 188:5-12.
264
Id.189:3-7.
265
Id., M. Andrews, 37:15-16.
266
Id. 37:18-20.
257

26

Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

Fluvanna in November of 2007, where she spent the last three years of her sentence before her
release in July of 2010.267 Ms. Andrews testified as a survivor of an inmate-on-inmate sexual
assault at another VADOC facility, but she nonetheless provided first-hand observations about
the culture of Fluvanna. Ms. Andrews testified that the sexual encounters between female
inmates and male correctional staff were not violent; instead they were often the result of an
agreement between the parties:
I’ve never heard or seen a violent sexual exchange between officers and inmates
because it is more of an exchange of services between the two. Women would
allow these officers to have sexual relations with them because they were lonely,
wanted a better job, wanted more privileges, wanted less consequences for
infractions or just for something to do.268
Ms. Andrews said that incarcerated women are especially vulnerable to staff members who show
an interest in them, as the women come to prison with poor self-esteem and welcome attention
that would give them an advantage over other inmates.269
Commenting on her own experience at another facility where she said that she was the target of a
fellow inmate’s sexual assault, Ms. Andrews said that the investigation was significantly
wanting: she was not sent to the medical unit; she was not provided counseling services; no
pictures were taken; and the inquiry was limited.270 She asserted that Fluvanna would similarly
not take inmate-on-inmate allegations of sexual assault seriously unless there were physical signs
to prove the allegation.271 Ms. Andrews said that what she learned from her experience was that
“never, ever to tell any authority anything that was going on.”272
Ms. Andrews said that when she returned to Fluvanna in 2007, the warden at that time repeatedly
told the inmates that “if she took anything and everything from us, including our humanity,
maybe we would not return to prison.”273 Consistent with the Fluvanna Report, but contrary to
Mr. Jabe’s testimony, Ms. Andrews testified that the chief of security, who replaced his
convicted predecessor, took a hard line, often referring to women inmates in a derogatory way.274
She said that if inmates felt mistreated under the harsh, new policies, they could only appeal to
the very people who were implementing them.275 She said that as part of this new regime,
women could not use makeup and had to cut their hair above the collar of their shirts.276 If the
women did not comply with these requirements, they were denied access not only to religious,
educational, and vocational programming but also to family visits.277 One aspect of the new

267

Id. 37:20-22.
Id. 38:16-39:1.
269
Id. 39:2-9.
270
Id. 41:8-16.
271
Id. 41:16-21.
272
Id. 42:12-14.
273
Id. 42:22-43:2.
274
Id. 43:3-7.
275
Id. 43:7-12.
276
Id. 43:20-22.
277
Id. 43:22-44:4.
268

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

policies was an absolute ban on physical contact between inmates, not permitting hand-holding
or hugging even during religious services.278
Ms. Andrews attested to the serious problem that women inmates had in accessing the toilet, not
only during the night but also especially during weekly shakedowns.279 As the cells do not have
toilets, the staff would allow women to access the restroom only one at a time.280 Women would
often have to wait hours to use the toilet, forcing many to urinate on themselves, an infraction
that resulted in disciplinary segregation.281
Contrary to the Fluvanna Report’s conclusion, Ms. Andrews corroborated the Associated Press’
story regarding the segregation of lesbians and masculine-appearing women at Fluvanna.282 She
stated that Fluvanna created a “butch wing” in Building 5D:283
They segregated all the butch inmates into D wing . . . They segregated all the
butch girls that had short hair or sagged their pants or looked like boys, grew
facial hair, whatever the case may be. Put them all in one wing thinking that it
would stomp down relationships between them and their girlfriends, and the truth
of the matter is, is they just continued relationships and then they wrote about it
because they were segregated.284
Ms. Andrews reported that during her time at Fluvanna she was aware of officers and inmates
having sex in a windowless bathroom and supply closet; both were free of monitoring cameras
installed at the facility in the wake of PREA.285
With Ms. Hobbs’ appointment at Fluvanna, Ms. Andrews said that the atmosphere changed for
the better, but still, based on her correspondence with former inmates at Fluvanna, the usage of
the “dog collar” and the problem of access to toilets remain.286
Ms. Helen Trainor, the former director of the Virginia Institutionalized Persons Project for the
Legal Aid Justice Center of Charlottesville, Virginia, testified that she worked as an advocate for
inmates in Virginia prisons from 2007 to 2010.287 She said that the primary focus of her contact
with inmates at Fluvanna was civil rights work.288 Ms. Trainor said that based on her
interactions with inmates at Fluvanna, the complaints of staff sexual misconduct significantly
outnumbered complaints of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization.289 She stated that the
policies and practices at Fluvanna served a dual purpose: to foster the illusion that inmate-oninmate sexual victimization is a problem, which deflects attention away from the recent sex

278

Id. 44:5-14.
Id. 45:6-19, 46:8-12.
280
Id. 45:6-19.
281
Id.
282
Id. 47:11-21.
283
Id. 66:13-15, 67:2-3.
284
Id. 67:2-11.
285
Id. 46:20-47:10.
286
Id. 48:5-8, 49:7-21.
287
Id., H. Trainor, 70:4-7.
288
Id. 71:5-6.
289
Id. 71:15-19.
279

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

scandal at the prison involving the former chief of security, and to create a “a culture of
degradation, shame, and intimidation” that allows officers to victimize inmates unchallenged.290
Ms. Trainor testified that she had evidence of the current chief of security using derogatory
language in dealing with female offenders.291 She also corroborated Ms. Andrews’ testimony
regarding the existence of a “butch wing” at Fluvanna,292 the distress inmates encountered in
accessing toilets,293 the policy of restricting any physical contact inmates had with each other,294
and the use of the “dog leash” in moving inmates in segregation.295
Commenting on Fluvanna’s alleged practice, at least at one time, of segregating masculineappearing women, Ms. Trainor observed, “Unit managers were authorized to identify . . . women
who looked butch on the basis solely of their appearance, notably a preference for wearing baggy
clothes and having short hair. The assumption, I assume, was that women who looked butch
were, in fact, sexual predators and should therefore be punished.”296
Ms. Trainor said that “correctional officers routinely referred to the wing in which butch women
were housed as ‘the locker room’ and to the women there as ‘little boys.’”297 She also testified
that Fluvanna mistreated inmates by failing to provide sufficient privacy during consultations
with medical staff.298
iv.

Facility-Specific Recommendations

In light of Fluvanna’s response to the Data Request, the Panel’s site visit, and the testimony that
the Panel received regarding Fluvanna, the Panel recommends that the VADOC revisit the
Fluvanna Report and determine whether it has been effective in implementing the
recommendations contained in it, particularly in regard to staff training, effective
communication, and the investigation of alleged sexual victimization. The Panel also
recommends that the facility revisit its policy of holding alleged victims of sexual misconduct in
administrative segregation during an investigation. Consistent with the recommendations of the
proposed regulations, the Panel encourages Fluvanna to explore other alternatives before placing
an alleged victim of sexual assault in segregation. The Panel found the use of tether straps at
Fluvanna disturbing, failing to understand their value in enhancing security while recognizing
the dehumanizing message their use sends to inmates at the facility. The Panel welcomed Mr.
Jabe’s offer to revisit VADOC’s policy on the use of tether straps. The question as to whether
Fluvanna segregated inmates based on sexual orientation or masculine physical appearance is
beyond the purview of these hearings. Still, the Panel received credible testimony that women at
Fluvanna may have been subject to discrimination based on sexual orientation or physical
290

Id. 72:9-12.
Id. 75:13-19. The Panel requested documentation of the e-mails that Ms. Trainor claimed to have in her files
showing the usage of offensive language (see id., G. Christensen, 85:13-16; id., H. Trainor, 85:17-21); however, Ms.
Trainor was unable to produce these documents.
292
Id. 76:10-21.
293
Id. 77:7-22.
294
Id. 76:22-77:6.
295
Id. 79:18-21.
296
Id. 76:11-17.
297
Id. 75:20-76:1.
298
Id. 79:22-81:8.
291

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

appearance. Given these allegations, it may make sense to invest in staff training on the
obligation to respect inmates, regardless of sexual orientation or physical appearance. The staff
training might include a segment on the importance of appropriate professional language in
creating a positive institutional culture. Consistently speaking to inmates with respect plays a
key role in creating a prison culture that does not tolerate any form of sexual victimization. In
practice, implementing zero tolerance for inmate sexual victimization might begin with insisting
on zero tolerance for verbal harassment of inmates in any form. The Panel encourages Warden
Hobbs to strengthen staff training programs, particularly for male staff, on the dynamics of
working in a female facility and on the importance of maintaining appropriate professional
boundaries.
b.

Allred
i.

Facility Description

Allred is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the TDCJ, in Wichita Falls, Texas. On
January 1, 2008, and January 1, 2009, the facility’s capacity was 3682; on January 1, 2008, the
actual inmate population was 3646; and on January 1, 2009, the actual inmate population was
3636.299 In 2008, 5866 inmates spent any time at Allred; the average length of stay was 1302
days; and the longest stay was 4941 days.300 In 2009, 4693 spent any time at Allred; the average
length of stay was 1682 days; and the longest stay was 5306 days.301 In 2008, out of a total of
5866 inmates, the racial and ethnic breakdown was as follows: 2290 African Americans, 1727
Hispanics, 1818 Whites, 3 Asians, 1 American Indian, and 27 others.302 In 2009, out of a total of
4693 inmates, the racial and ethnic breakdown was as follows: 1814 African Americans, 1401
Hispanics, 1415 Whites, 2 Asians, 1 American Indian, and 24 others.303
In 2008, Allred had one suicide, fifty-eight attempted suicides, no homicides, and six attempted
homicides.304 In 2009, Allred had four suicides, forty-eight attempted suicides, no homicides,
and five attempted homicides.305 In 2008 and 2009, none of the suicides or attempted homicides
was related to sexual victimization.306 In 2008, of the fifty-eight suicide attempts, seven inmates
alleged prior inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization;307 in 2009, of the forty-eight suicide
attempts, two inmates alleged prior inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization.308
In 2008 and 2009, no employees at Allred were terminated, disciplined, or received a warning
for sexual misconduct;309 however, in the same time period, eighteen staff members were
299

Allred Resp. 9-12 (on file with the Panel).
Id.
301
Id.
302
Id.
303
Id. Allred did not account for the racial and ethnic backgrounds of thirty-six inmates.
304
Id. 13-16. The TDCJ explained that in reporting the number of attempted homicides at Allred, it relied on data
from the OIG, which characterizes attempted homicide as aggravated assault.
305
Id.
306
Id. 14, 16.
307
Id. 14.
308
Id. 16.
309
Id. 22(a), (c).
300

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

investigated for improper conduct involving an inmate and resigned prior to receiving
discipline.310 According to the investigative summaries that the Panel received from the TDCJ,
about half of these cases involved female staff members who developed inappropriate
relationships with male offenders.311 Of the eighteen staff members who resigned following an
investigation in 2008-09, one resigned based on a “Failure to Provide Notification of Offender
Relationship;” and seventeen resigned based on “Establishment of Offender Relationship that
Jeopardizes Security or Compromises the Employee (other than cohabitation or sexual
misconduct).”312
On January 1, 2008, Allred had 973 authorized staff positions, including 842 security positions
and 131 non-security positions.313 On January 1, 2008, Allred had in actuality 850 staff persons,
721 in security positions and 129 in non-security positions.314 On January 1, 2009, Allred had
974 authorized staff positions, including 842 security positions and 132 non-security positions.315
On January 1, 2009, Allred had in actuality 896 staff persons, 748 in security positions and 121
in non-security positions.316 On January 1, 2008, and on January 1, 2009, the Office of the
Inspector General (OIG) assigned three sworn officers to Allred.317 As the security staff in
Texas is not sworn, the only sworn officers at Allred in 2008 and 2009 were from the OIG;
consequently, the TDCJ did not provide data on the ratio of security staff to inmates during this
time period.318
At Allred the staffing plan provided for a Unit Safe Prisons Program Coordinator in 2008-09;
this position would include many of the duties of a PREA coordinator.319 This position was
vacant from January of 2008 to March 15, 2008; then it was assigned to a sergeant on staff.320
For the period under review, there were sixty-six investigations at Allred responding to
complaints of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization.321 In all instances, the charges were not
sustained.322
During the same time period, there were twenty-five investigations of staff sexual misconduct
involving inmates.323 The investigations involved staff members of both sexes and included a
range of charges from establishing a relationship with an inmate to rape.324 None of the charges
were sustained except for eight incidents, as previously noted, involving female staff members
who either wrote romantic letters to inmates or established inappropriate relationships with
310

Id. 22(b) & electronic file supp.
Id.
312
Id. 22(b).
313
Id. 23(a).
314
Id. 23(d)(i).
315
Id. 24(a).
316
Id. 24(d)(i). These figures do not total 896; the discrepancy is a reporting error attributable to Allred.
317
Id. 23(b), 24(b).
318
Id. 23-25.
319
Id. 2.
320
Id.
321
App. C (Allred Inmate-on-Inmate Assaults).
322
Id.
323
Id. (Allred Staff-on-Inmate Assaults).
324
Id.
311

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

them.325 The investigative reports indicated that when the charge was sustained against a female
staff member, she was either escorted from the facility or allowed to resign without facing
discipline or criminal prosecution.326
In reviewing the complete investigative files from Allred, there were instances in which the
Panel could not determine from the produced documents what happened either to the
complainant or the alleged perpetrator.327 On reviewing the investigative files, the Panel noted
that there were a significant number of complainants who self-identified as homosexual.328
ii.

Facility’s Explanation for Reported High
Incidence of Sexual Victimization

Neither the written nor oral testimony to the Panel from representatives from the TDCJ provided
a sufficient explanation for the sustained high level of sexual victimization at Allred in 2008 and
2009. In responding to the Panel’s Data Request,329 the TDCJ stated that the high level of
reported sexual victimization at Allred may be related to the classification of inmates at the
facility, but the TDCJ did not explain how inmate classification led to the high prevalence of
sexual victimization:
Due to Allred’s maximum security profile, it houses various custody levels
ranging from general population offenders that are housed in accordance with the
agency’s Classification Plan to various levels of administrative segregation.
Additionally, the unit houses a significant number of Safekeeping offenders.
Safekeeping is a classification status utilized for housing offenders who have been
identified as vulnerable and in some cases have been victimized in the past.
These custody levels are contributing factors in the allegations of sexual
victimization.330
Mr. Brad Livingston, Executive Director, TDCJ, explained in his written testimony that the
Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ), comprised of nine members appointed by the governor

325

Id. (Incidents 1-3, 21-25); see supra note 311.
App. C (Allred Staff-on-Inmate Assaults) (Incidents 1-3, 21-25).
327
Id. (Incidents 27, 28); see also Tr., R. Taler, 427:1-3 (“I can’t even tell from the documentation any additional
actions taken against the offender.”).
328
Based on the Panel’s review of Allred’s investigative files of inmate complaints alleging inmate-on-inmate
sexual victimization, the Panel found that a significant number of the complainants self-identified as being other
than heterosexual. In 2008, out of thirty-four inmate complaints alleging inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization,
fourteen complainants (41%) self-identified as other than heterosexual. In 2009, out of thirty-two inmate complaints
alleging inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization, seventeen complainants (53%) self-identified as being other than
heterosexual.
329
Question forty-six in the Data Request that the Panel sent to the TDCJ is “What are the key factors that led to the
high incidence of sexual victimization at the Allred Unit in calendar years 2008 and 2009?” See app. A (Letter and
Data Request from Michael L. Alston, Attorney Advisor, Panel, to Brad Livingston, Executive Director, TDCJ (Feb.
2, 2011)).
330
Allred Resp. 46 (italics in original).
326

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

of Texas, is the policy-making and oversight body for the TDCJ.331 The OIG, the Internal Audit
Division, the PREA Ombudsman, and the Special Prosecution Unit are independent agencies that
report directly to the TBCJ.332 Mr. Livingston noted that prior to the enactment of PREA, the
Texas Legislature mandated that TDCJ implement a safe prisons program to address offender
assault.333 Moreover, in 2007, the Texas Legislature codified into law the TDCJ’s zero-tolerance
policy toward sexual assault in Texas prisons and created the position of PREA Ombudsman
within the TDCJ.334 Mr. Livingston stated, “From the time an offender enters our system and an
individual accepts employment with our agency, we communicate our expectations for behavior
and our mechanisms for reporting behavior in violation of our standards of conduct.”335 He said
that the offender population receives orientation and a handbook that addresses the issue of
sexual assault, and during intake and prior to permanent assignment to a unit, the Safe Prisons
Program Coordinator interviews each inmate and provides information on the TDCJ Safe Prisons
Program.336 The Safe Prisons Program is “a coordinated effort to integrate education, training,
classification, security, monitoring medical and investigative functions in a manner which
promotes offender safety.”337 The TDCJ displays posters on its zero-tolerance policy in
prominent locations in each unit.338 TDCJ employees also receive written standards of conduct
and an ethics policy, and they must acknowledge receipt of these documents in writing.339 All
employees receive a toll-free telephone number for the OIG to report any criminal violations,
including sexual assault.340 Mr. Livingston noted that avenues for reporting sexual victimization
include grievance procedures, the agency’s ombudsman, the PREA Ombudsman, the
administrative monitor for the use of force, and direct reports to the OIG.341 Mr. Livingston
noted that none of these administrative functions report to the division responsible for prison
operations.342
iii.

Observations

Mr. Wayne Krause, the legal director of the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), provided
testimony to the Panel on the culture at Allred.343 He stated that the TCRP has an active prisoner
rights program, which receives hundreds of complaints from inmates throughout the State of
Texas, but his organization represents less than one percent of the inmates who contact it.344 Mr.
Krause provided two examples of inmates whom the TCRP represents who have alleged sexual
victimization at Allred in 2008; he referred to one as John and to the other as Jane, a transgender
331

Livingston Test. 2 (Apr. 26-27, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_apr11/testimony_livingston.pdf. Mr. Livingston’s testimony also
appears in the Transcript of Record. See Tr., B. Livingston, 351:2-372:17.
332
Livingston Test. 2.
333
Id.
334
Id. 3; see TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. §§ 501.011 (zero-tolerance policy), 501.172 (ombudsperson) (2011).
335
Livingston Test. 4-5.
336
Id. 5.
337
Id. 6.
338
Id. 5.
339
Id.
340
Id.
341
Id.
342
Id.
343
Tr., W. Krause, 324:18-22.
344
Id. 325:1-8.

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

inmate.345 Producing a redacted sworn statement from John, who is still housed at TDCJ, Mr.
Krause stated that on October 5, 2008, a correctional officer came to John’s cell and forced him
to perform oral sex.346 Mr. Krause contended that there were two good reasons to believe John’s
version of this event: first, there is an official report that shows that the semen sample that John
produced matched the DNA of the accused correctional officer; and second, the correctional
officer confessed to prison authorities that John performed oral sex on him.347 Mr. Krause said
that according to Jane’s sworn statement, which Mr. Krause produced, the same correctional
officer who victimized John used the same techniques of intimidation to force Jane to perform
oral sex on him, too.348
Mr. Krause said that one of the saddest aspects of this story is that at the time of the alleged
sexual victimization of John, the administrators of Allred were already aware that the facility had
one of the nation’s highest rates of sexual victimization, by both correctional staff and other
inmates.349 Moreover, according to Mr. Krause, John told Allred’s Safe Prisons Program Officer
that the same correctional officer had sexually assaulted him twice previously and the program
officer allegedly did nothing to protect him.350 Most significantly, Mr. Krause claims that the
Safe Prisons Program Officer refuted John’s allegations without investigation.351 Citing the
documents he produced, Mr. Krause stated that when John gave the semen sample to the Safe
Prisons Program Officer she threatened him, allegedly telling him that if the semen sample did
not match the accused correctional officer, she would charge him with assaulting her with a
bodily fluid.352 She also allegedly warned him not to file another grievance.353
Mr. Krause noted that the TDCJ has some good policies on paper that try to prevent and respond
to sexual victimization, but based on the experiences of John and Jane, the practice does not
appear to conform to the policies.354 He said that the culture at Allred is one that blames and
punishes the victim.355 Mr. Krause contended that the grievance procedures are inherently
flawed when it comes to reporting sexual victimization because the TDCJ allows an inmate only
fifteen days after an incident to file a grievance.356 Mr. Krause said that based on his experience,
some victims of sexual assault may need more than fifteen days to process what happened to
them.357 He said that one should contrast this fifteen-day period to criminal sexual assault
345

Id. 325:9-10, 328:7.
Id. 326:7-20. The sworn statements and other documents related to Mr. Krause’s testimony are on file with the
Panel.
347
Id. 327:4-8.
348
Id. 328:5-12.
349
Id. 327:15-19; see supra note 33.
350
Tr., W. Krause, 327:20-328:1.
351
Id. 329:4-5.
352
Id. 329:9-14.
353
Id. 329:14-15.
354
Id. 328:16-21.
355
Id. 329:20-21.
356
Id. 331:14-17.
357
Id. 331:17-20. The proposed national standards state that an inmate should have a minimum of twenty days to
file a grievance following an incident of sexual abuse. Nat’l Standards, 76 Fed. Reg. at 6298 (§ 115.352(a)(1)). The
proposed national standards also state that a correctional institution should grant an extension of no less than ninety
days for filing a grievance when an inmate can provide documentation that the normal time limit for filing a
grievance was impractical because of either physical or psychological trauma. Id. (§ 115.352(a)(2)).
346

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

statutes, which in most states extend the reporting period to five years or more after the
incident.358 Mr. Krause also commented on the lack of services for victims of sexual assault at
Allred and a culture that follows rules at the expense of people.359
Mr. Krause offered four recommendations for improving Allred: (1) providing consistent,
effective education on preventing and responding to sexual victimization for both correctional
staff and inmates; (2) having correctional officials take every complaint of sexual victimization
seriously; (3) collaborating with organizations outside the prison to provide services to inmate
victims; and (4) expanding the staff of TDCJ’s PREA Ombudsman (currently there is just one
ombudsman and one assistant) and improving communication between the PREA Ombudsman’s
Office and inmates who have complained of sexual victimization, especially when it comes to
informing them of the disposition of the charges made against sexual predators.360
In reflecting on Mr. Krause’s testimony regarding the alleged treatment of both John and Jane,
the Panel noted that during its onsite visit of Allred, staff members referred to homosexual
inmates as “queens.”361
At the request of the Panel, the BJS prepared a short summary comparing the incidence of sexual
victimization at Allred between its last appearance before the Panel, based on 2007 data, and the
data collected in the most recent BJS Report. The summary, Trends in Sexual Victimization at
Allred, appears in the following chart:362
Trends in Sexual Victimization at Allred
Total
Inmate-on-Inmate
Nonconsensual Sexual Acts
Staff Sexual Misconduct
Nonconsensual Sexual Acts
Nonconsensual Sexual Acts
Abusive Sexual Contacts Only
Physically Forced
Inmate-on-Inmate
Staff
Pressured
Inmate-on-Inmate
Staff
No Force/Pressure
Injured
Inmate-on-Inmate
Staff

2007
9.9%
4.8
4.0
6.7
4.9
8.0
1.9

2008-09
10.9%
7.6
2.5
5.6
3.6
6.5
4.4

3.6
3.2

6.8
3.2

2.8
3.2
2.3
3.3
3.3
0.9

3.9
3.7
3.2
1.9
0.6
1.9

358

Tr., W. Krause, 332:6-9.
Id. 332:12-13, 333:7-9.
360
Id. 335:1-337:10.
361
Interview with Eddie Williams, Senior Warden, Allred, et al. in Wichita Falls, Tex. (Apr. 19, 2011) (on file with
Panel).
362
The BJS relied on data that appears in the BJS Report and the BJS Report 2007 in preparing the chart.
359

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

Based on the chart that the BJS prepared, the Panel expressed concern that the data indicated that
abusive sexual contact at Allred more than doubled since the BJS Report 2007.363 Mr.
Livingston said that the data from BJS significantly differs from the number of reported incidents
that the TDCJ has.364 He said that he could not offer an explanation for why the incidence of
sexual victimization at Allred increased, nor could he make sense of the discrepancy between the
BJS’ data and the TDCJ’s data on the reported incidence of sexual victimization at Allred, as
TDCJ’s numbers are roughly ten times less than the numbers reported in the BJS Report.365 Mr.
Livingston stated that contrary to the trend suggested by the BJS data in the above chart, the
TDCJ as a whole actually had a decrease in the incidence of sexual victimization from 261 in
2007 to 168 in 2009.366 Mr. Livingston testified that during the same three-year period, Allred
also experienced a slight decrease in the incidence of sexual victimization.367 Mr. Livingston
noted that Allred has an inmate population with many of the characteristics that the BJS Report
identified as being overrepresented among inmates who have experienced sexual victimization,
including inmates convicted of violent offenses, inmates with mental illness, inmates who
identify as being other than heterosexual, and inmates in safekeeping status.368
In reviewing reports of both inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization and staff-on-inmate sexual
victimization that Allred provided to the Panel, the Panel chose one report involving the
investigation of an inmate’s sexual assault on a cellmate to examine more closely with the
assistance of representatives of the TDCJ.369 The Panel noted that the record showed that the
perpetrator had a history of being disciplined repeatedly for sexual misconduct,370 and the facility
had identified the perpetrator as a sexual predator.371 In reviewing the report, TDCJ officials
noted that some of the previous disciplinary actions against the perpetrator were most likely
based on his masturbating in front of female staff members, but the inmate’s disciplinary record
attached to the report lacked sufficient detail to determine whether the other incidents prompting
discipline for sexual misconduct were limited to masturbation or involved sexual activity with
other inmates.372 In this instance, the investigative report noted that the perpetrator admitted to
the sexual assault on his cellmate.373 Despite this admission, the investigator checked a box on
the standard investigative report form, indicating that the investigator was “Unable to
Substantiate Subject’s Allegation.”374
After reviewing the investigative report, Mr. Eddie Williams, Senior Warden of Allred, said that
he was unable to explain the investigator’s action.375 The report showed that the victim was
placed in transient housing pending the outcome of the investigation,376 but the report was silent
363

Tr., G. Christensen, 369:14-17.
Id., B. Livingston, 370:3-12.
365
Id. 372:7-12, 373:2-4; see also id., R. Thaler, 374:22-375:3.
366
Id., B. Livingston, 377:18-22.
367
Id. 378:4-5.
368
Id. 380:5-21, 381:4-13.
369
Id., G. Christensen, 410:1-4.
370
Id., G. Christensen & E. Williams, 414:13-415:5.
371
Id., E. Williams, 416:18-19.
372
Id. 414:22, 417:7-8, 420:7; id., J. Moriarty, 423:9-14.
373
Id., E. Williams, 418:22-419:2.
374
Id. 419:19-21.
375
Id.
376
Id. 415:17-21.
364

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

as to whether Allred took any actions against the alleged perpetrator.377 Sgt. Lisa James, Safe
Prisons Program Coordinator, testified that even though the report that the TDCJ provided did
not contain this information, Allred did place the perpetrator in maximum security.378
Mr. Livingston acknowledged that in a system as large as the TDCJ, there is always a challenge
in trying to close the gap between stated policy and actual practice.379 In dealing with this
challenge in the context of addressing inmate sexual victimization, the TDCJ has emphasized the
significance of staff training.380 To augment existing in-service training programs for staff, Mr.
Livingston said that the TDCJ has in the last few years strengthened its training department and
created special training programs for both newly promoted sergeants and captains.381
In discussing the prosecution of serious cases involving inmate-on-inmate sexual assault, Mr.
John Moriarty, Inspector General, TDCJ, stated that even when there is overwhelming evidence,
grand juries are often reluctant to move forward with the cases because they often lack sympathy
for victims of prison sexual assault.382 Ms. Gina DeBottis, Special Prosecution Unit, OIG,
agreed with this assessment, noting the number of sound cases that her office presented to grand
juries that chose not to issue indictments.383 Mr. Moriarty noted that prosecutors often face the
same prospect at trial, citing a particularly disturbing case in which a jury ignored aggravated
sexual assault charges against an inmate despite convincing DNA evidence supporting a
conviction.384
Ms. DeBottis stated to the Panel’s surprise that in prosecuting cases, her office cannot use the
evidence gathered for administrative discipline.385
Ms. Charma Blount, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner at TDCJ, testified that Allred does take
measures to provide services to inmates who are victims of sexual assault, which takes the form
of giving a pamphlet to an inmate at the beginning of a sexual assault investigation to explain the
inmate’s rights, providing the inmate a forensic examination, and referring the inmate to mental
health services.386 The institution also provides inmates with an “offender victim
representative,” a trained advocate who is to be the “eyes and ears” of an inmate during the
forensic medical examination process.387
iv.

Facility-Specific Recommendations

The Panel finds disturbing that Allred, which the Panel identified previously as a facility with a
high incidence of sexual victimization, does not appear to have made significant improvements
since the same administrators from the facility and TDCJ appeared before the Panel in 2008.388
377

Id., R. Thaler, 427:1-3.
Id., L. James, 433:1-10.
379
Id., B. Livingston, 385:8-12.
380
Id. 385:20-386:1.
381
Id. 386:1-22.
382
Id., J. Moriarty, 449:14-16.
383
Id., G. DeBottis, 450:1-15.
384
Id. 451:12-21.
385
Id. 448:6-8.
386
Id., C. Blount, 464:15-465:8.
387
Id. 461:11, 21-22.
388
See supra note 33.
378

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

The Panel strongly recommends that TDCJ and Allred develop a comprehensive management
plan that identifies the factors contributing to the high incidence of sexual victimization at
Allred, including measurable goals that an outside observer can track to ensure demonstrable
progress. The plan should include an evaluation of Allred’s compliance with directives, policies,
and common practices that TDCJ has promulgated to eliminate sexual misconduct.389 The Panel
also urges TDCJ and Allred to review administrative investigations into allegations of sexual
abuse, which might involve having TDCJ or OIG conduct quarterly reviews of all investigations,
strengthening the training for investigative staff, improving documentation of investigative
outcomes, and ensuring better coordination of administrative and OIG investigations. The Panel
also encourages the prosecutor’s office to review its stated practice of not relying on evidence
gathered during administrative investigations. The TDCJ should also review the services it
provides to inmates who have been the target of sexual abuse. In light of the high number of
grievances from self-identified homosexual inmates at Allred, the Panel encourages the Allred
administrators to provide training to staff on the vulnerability of homosexual inmates and to take
steps to protect them from sexual assault. Given the significant number of female staff members
who were forced to resign from Allred in the wake of investigations finding that they established
inappropriate relationships with male inmates, Allred should provide staff training, especially for
newly hired female staff, on how to maintain proper professional boundaries. The training
should include information for both staff members and supervisors on how to identify early
warning signs that a staff member’s professional relationship with an inmate may be headed in
the wrong direction.
c.

Elmira
i.

Facility Description

Elmira, located in Upstate New York, is a maximum-security prison for men. On January 1,
2008, and on January 1, 2009, the full rated capacity at Elmira was 1680; in addition there were
fifty-four beds in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) and thirty-four beds in the infirmary.390 The
actual number of inmates on January 1, 2008, was 1718 in the general population, 51 in the
SHU, 15 inmates in the infirmary, and 16 inmates out of the count, making a total of 1800
inmates.391 The total number of inmates who spent any time at Elmira in 2008 was 9464.392 In
2008, the average length of stay for an inmate was 161 days; the longest length of stay was 6463
days.393 The actual number of inmates at Elmira on January 1, 2009, was 1750 in the general
population, 54 in the SHU, 17 in the infirmary, and 11 out of the count, making a total of 1832
inmates.394 The total number of inmates who spent any time at Elmira in 2009 was 9396.395 In
2009, the average length of stay for an inmate was 168 days; the longest length of stay was 6776
days.396

389

See Livingston Test. 3-6.
Elmira Resp. 9(a), 10(a) (on file with the Panel).
391
Id. 9(b).
392
Id. 9(f).
393
Id. 9(g), (h).
394
Id. 10(b).
395
Id. 10(f).
396
Id. 10(g), (h).
390

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

In 2008, among the 9464 inmates who spent any time at Elmira, the racial and ethnic
composition was as follows: 3260 Whites, 4782 African Americans, 1249 Hispanics, 18 Asians,
95 Alaska Natives or American Indians, 40 others, and 20 unknown.397
In 2009, among the 9396 inmates who spent any time at Elmira, the racial and ethnic
composition was as follows: 3384 Whites, 4612 African Americans, 1226 Hispanics, 15 Asians,
100 Alaska Natives or American Indians, 53 others, and 6 unknown.398 In 2008 and 2009,
Elmira did not collect inmate data either for the category of Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander or for the category of Two or More Races.399
At Elmira in 2008, one inmate committed suicide, and ten inmates attempted suicide.400 The
suicide and attempted suicides in 2008 were not related to sexual victimization.401 In 2009, two
inmates committed suicide, and eleven attempted suicide.402 One of the inmates who attempted
suicide in 2009 had alleged that he was the victim of inmate-on-inmate sexual abuse about three
months earlier at another correctional facility, but the charge was not substantiated and the
inmate had a well-documented history of mental illness.403 There were no homicides at Elmira
in 2008 and 2009, and Elmira does not gather data on attempted homicides.404
On January 1, 2008, there were 727 staff positions at Elmira at full capacity (523 sworn and 204
non-sworn).405 On January 1, 2008, however, there were 232 sworn staff members and twentysix non-sworn staff members actually present.406 DOCCS does not require a minimum
mandatory number of daily staff at each of its facilities; rather it employs a “plot-plan approach”
to determine the staffing pattern.407 In 2008, the plot-plan for Elmira entailed 266 security and
sixteen non-uniform positions.408
On January 1, 2009, Elmira at full capacity had 741 staff positions (544 sworn and 197 nonsworn).409 On January 1, 2009, there were, however, 235 sworn staff and nineteen non-sworn
staff actually present.410 In 2009 the staffing plot-plan for Elmira entailed 269 security and
sixteen non-uniform positions.411

397

Id. 11(a)-(g).
Id. 12(a)-(g).
399
Id. 11(g), 12(g).
400
Id. 13(a)-(b).
401
Id. 14.
402
Id. 15(a)-(b).
403
Id. 16.
404
Id. 13(c)-(d), 14(c)-(d).
405
Id. 23(a)-(c).
406
Id. 23(e)(i), (f)(i). These numbers refer to individuals and do not account for staff members who may have
worked more than one shift.
407
Id. 23(g).
408
Id.
409
Id. 24(a)-(c).
410
Id. 24(e)(i), (f)(i). These numbers refer to individuals and do not account for staff members who may have
worked more than one shift.
411
Id. 24(g).
398

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

On January 1, 2008, and on January 1, 2009, the ratio of uniformed staff to inmates was one to
3.49.412
In 2008 and 2009, Elmira did not have a PREA coordinator.413
For the period under review, calendar years 2008 and 2009, there were four investigations into
inmate-on-inmate charges of sexual assault at Elmira.414 In each case, the charge was not
sustained.415 During the same period, there were twenty-two investigations into staff sexual
misconduct at Elmira.416 In all but one of these cases the charges were not substantiated.417 In
one instance, the investigation substantiated a charge of unwanted touching against a contract
phlebotomist; Elmira referred the matter for prosecution, but at trial the accused was found not
guilty.418
In reviewing the complaint files that Elmira produced, the Panel found them unorganized,
incomplete, and difficult to follow, hindering an independent review of the facility’s complaint
process.
ii.

Facility Explanation for Reported High Incidence of
Sexual Victimization

After reviewing the data in the BJS Report showing a high incidence of staff-on-inmate sexual
victimization at Elmira, Brian Fischer, Commissioner of DOCCS, made two observations: (1)
the results of the recent BJS survey differ significantly from a comparable BJS survey of Elmira
in 2007 that showed a significantly lower rate of staff-on-inmate sexual victimization, and (2) the
inmate-reported incidents of staff sexual misconduct may reflect the inmates’ objection to
Elmira’s thorough pat-frisk procedures.419
Mr. Fischer noted that the BJS survey in 2007 found that the reported rate of staff-on-inmate
sexual victimization at Elmira was 3.3%, which is less than half the 7.7% rate of staff-on-inmate
sexual victimization for Elmira in the recent BJS Report.420 Mr. Fischer said that DOCCS has
undertaken its own analysis of sexual victimization at Elmira, which includes reviewing reported
incidents and having discussions with offenders, but the analysis is not yet complete.421
Mr. Fischer stated that it was the belief of DOCCS that the majority of the reported staff-oninmate incidents at Elmira are related to “necessary and thorough pat frisks.”422 Mr. Fischer
stated that anecdotal evidence suggests that Elmira inmates were surprised by the reported high
412

Id. 25(a), (e).
Id. 2.
414
App. C (Elmira Inmate-on-Inmate Sexual Assaults).
415
Id.
416
Id. (Elmira Staff-on-Inmate Assaults).
417
Id. Two of the unsubstantiated charges involved allegations of staff sexual misconduct during the pat frisk of an
inmate (Incidents 7, 22).
418
Id. (Incident 2).
419
Fischer Test. 8 (Apr. 27, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_apr11/testimony_fischer.pdf.
420
Id. Compare BJS Report 2007, at 26 (app. tbl.4) with BJS Report 43 (app. tbl.2).
421
Fischer Test. 8.
422
Id.
413

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

incidence of staff-on-inmate sexual victimization, whereas those same offenders considered pat
frisks a form of sexual assault:
Anecdotally, when asked about the results of the [BJS Report], offenders housed
at Elmira expressed shock that their facility would be rated as a facility with high
incidence of staff-on-inmate sexual abuse. They reported never having
experienced any such abuse, nor even knowing of any staff-on-inmate sexual
contact at the facility. What is relevant is that a number of these same offenders,
when asked about pat frisks, responded that they felt they were being conducted
inappropriately by a small number of employees. Those offenders stated that they
consider a thorough pat frisk to constitute a sexual assault. We believe that the
perception that a good pat frisk constitutes a sexual assault is the major fact
influencing the results of the [BJS Report].423
iii.

Observations

At the request of the Panel, two experts provided testimony and sworn, written statements on the
conditions of confinement at Elmira: Mr. Jack Beck, Director of the Prison Visiting Project
(PVP) for the Correctional Association (CA) of New York, and Ms. Betsy Hutchings, Managing
Attorney of the Ithaca Office of Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS) of New York.
In his sworn, written statement, Mr. Beck explained that the New York State Legislature created
the CA to inspect prisons operated by DOCCS and then report its findings to the Legislature.424
“The CA uses this unique mandate to advocate for improved prison conditions and to issue
comprehensive reports to policymakers and the public.”425 The CA’s PVP conducts onsite
assessments of DOCCS’ sixty-two male facilities, visiting six to eleven facilities each year.426 In
the past six years, the PVP has gathered extensive data from the prison population in DOCCS,
surveying inmates on a variety of issues, including general prison conditions, substance abuse
and other treatment programs, medical health services, disciplinary confinement, reentry
programs, and inmates’ experience with prison violence and staff abuse.427
Mr. Beck stated that the PVP’s survey of Elmira in March of 2010 is consistent with the finding
in the BJS Report of elevated levels of staff sexual misconduct at the facility:428
Eleven percent of the 176 Elmira general population inmates who responded to
our survey reported that they frequently or very frequently hear about staff sexual
abuse occurring in the prison, suggesting that sexual abuse is more prevalent at
Elmira than at approximately two-thirds of the state prisons we have visited.
Similarly, 11% of Elmira survey participants said that staff sexual abuse was

423

Id.
Beck Test. 2 (Apr. 27, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_apr11/testimony_beck.pdf. Mr. Beck’s testimony also appears in the
Transcript of Record. See Tr., J. Beck, 476:11-505:2.
425
Beck Test. 2.
426
Id.
427
Id.
428
Id. 3.
424

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

common in the prison, a rate that is higher than the response from survey
participants at approximately two-thirds of the CA-visited prisons.429
Mr. Beck stated that CA also analyzed complaints of sexual abuse at Elmira and found that in the
three-year period from 2008 to 2010, Elmira averaged seventeen complaints of staff sexual abuse
per year per 1000 inmates, a rate five times higher than the median rate at all DOCCS
facilities.430 The CA also found that even though inmates at Elmira did not express “strongly
negative views of the prison’s staff,” the survey found that the “rate of Elmira inmates’
grievances about staff conduct for the period 2007-09 was 67% higher than the median rate for
all state prisons.”431
Addressing the DOCCS’ contention that the high rate of reported staff sexual misconduct at
Elmira in the BJS Report may be attributable to inmates’ dissatisfaction with thorough but proper
pat frisks, Mr. Beck acknowledged that aggressive pat frisks may be “highly charged
encounters” that some inmates perceive to be “sexually offensive,” but he cautioned that the
“persistence of inmates’ complaints of aggressive pat-frisking procedures . . . should not be
use[d] to dismiss or minimize the existence of other staff conduct that involves sexual abuse.”432
Moreover, Mr. Beck testified that based on the data CA collected from Elmira in 2010,
aggressive pat-frisk procedures may account for some of the inmates’ sexual misconduct
complaints against staff; however, inmate discomfort with aggressive pat frisks does not account
for the reported high levels of staff sexual misconduct at the prison:
The CA 2010 survey of Elmira inmates specifically asked whether the survey
respondent experienced abus[ive] pat frisks; how frequently the individual heard
about abusive pat frisks of others at the prison; and how common such activity
was in the prison. Elmira survey participants’ responses support the conclusion
that abusive pat frisks occurred at Elmira at rates that were about average for all
CA-visited prisons. A review of inmates’ comments included in the survey
responses did not reveal any particular expression of heightened concern about
sexually abus[ive] pat frisks compared to other prisons we have visited.433
Mr. Beck said that it would be difficult to assess all of the factors at Elmira that may contribute
to staff sexual abuse, but based on previous conversations with inmates and the CA’s recent visit
to the facility, he identified three causes of concern.434 First, he asserted that Elmira’s physical
plant is not conducive to safety.435 Mr. Beck observed that cells in housing areas run along long
tiers, making it difficult for inmates to view activity outside their cells.436 In addition, the facility
has few video cameras, allowing staff members, who routinely escort inmates, to isolate them
from the observation of other inmates.437 Second, Mr. Beck noted that an analysis of incident
reports suggests that “violence is a significant issue at the prison, both between inmates and staff
429

Id. 3-4 (citation omitted).
Id. 4.
431
Id.
432
Id. 5.
433
Id. (citation omitted).
434
Id. 6.
435
Id.
436
Id.
437
Id.
430

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

and among inmates.”438 Mr. Beck observed that there were a large number of inmate grievances
at Elmira alleging staff misconduct, which may include any allegations of mistreatment by staff;
the CA found a high correlation between allegations of staff misconduct and sexual abuse.439
According to the CA, “[t]he rate of such grievances was substantially higher for Elmira than at
most other state prisons.”440 Finally, Mr. Beck stated that Elmira inmates are particularly
vulnerable during the work shift from 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm when most reported staff misconduct
occurs, which is after the executive staff has left for the day.441
In viewing DOCCS from a system-wide perspective, Mr. Beck made additional observations
related to the incidence of sexual victimization. He noted that in analyzing DOCCS prisons with
high rates of staff sexual abuse, “the common factors at these prisons were high levels of
violence and staff-inmate confrontations, and an intimidating atmosphere where threats by staff
with retaliation were common.”442 He also stated that in comparing the rates of sexual abuse
allegations between maximum-security prisons and medium-security prisons within DOCCS, the
characteristics of inmates, including whether they received convictions for violent offenses, do
not account for the higher rates.443 Mr. Beck stated that another factor influencing the high rate
of sexual victimization in DOCCS facilities is the relative unavailability of protective custody for
vulnerable inmates.444 He reported that CA estimates that the total prison population in
protective custody in New York State prisons is significantly less than 1000 beds or less than two
percent of the prisons’ capacity.445
According to Mr. Beck, the CA frequently receives complaints from prisoners who are unable to
obtain protective custody because they cannot meet the requirement of demonstrating a specific
threat from identified individuals.446
Based on data that it has collected, the CA is also concerned that inmates under-report staff
sexual abuse, especially at maximum-security prisons, because they are justifiably concerned
that they risk staff intimidation and retaliation.447 In light of the Panel’s interest in the treatment
of women inmates, it noted in particular Mr. Beck’s reporting that all of the women’s facilities in
DOCCS have high rates of staff-on-inmate sexual abuse.448
Mr. Beck noted that tracking allegations of staff sexual misconduct in DOCCS is difficult
because the available data from DOCCS is confusing; although apparently at odds with his
earlier statement about the under-reporting of staff sexual misconduct, he noted, for example,
that the BJS Report contains only forty-six percent of the allegations of staff sexual misconduct
that the DOCCS reported to CA.449
438

Id.
Id. 6-7.
440
Id. 7.
441
Id.
442
Id. 8.
443
Id.
444
Id.
445
Id.
446
Id.
447
Id. 9.
448
Id.
449
Id. 11.
439

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

Finally, Mr. Beck identified the DOCCS’ low rate of substantiating inmate complaints alleging
staff sexual misconduct as a factor that discourages inmates from reporting sexual abuse.450 Mr.
Beck stated that at best, DOCCS substantiated only six percent of all inmate complaints alleging
staff sexual misconduct.451 In contrast, Mr. Beck noted that about ninety-five percent of all
disciplinary charges against inmates result in a guilty finding.452 In view of facing potential
retaliation and further abuse from corrections staff, Mr. Beck stated that it is understandable that
an inmate would be reluctant to file a complaint, as “[i]t is difficult to justify undertaking these
risks given such limited possibilities for success.”453
The Panel also received information on the conditions of confinement at Elmira from Ms.
Hutchings, who explained that the PLS is a statewide civil legal service program that provides
advocacy services to indigent inmates in DOCCS facilities.454 The Ithaca Office of PLS, where
Ms. Hutchings serves as the managing attorney, receives requests for assistance from inmates at
Elmira as well as other DOCCS prisons.455 In 2010, Ms. Hutchings’ office received seventeen
letters from Elmira inmates who requested legal assistance related to allegations of staff physical
misconduct.456 Twelve letters concerned excessive force, and five involved claims of sexual
misconduct.457 None of the complaints that PLS received from Elmira inmates alleging staff-oninmate sexual misconduct occurred during pat frisks.458 Concurring with Mr. Beck, Ms.
Hutchings stated that the discrepancy between the high rate of reported staff sexual misconduct
at Elmira in the BJS Report and the low number of complaints involving staff sexual misconduct
that the PLS has received can be attributed to “the reluctance of inmates to report such conduct
due to shame, fear of retaliation and the belief that . . . their reports will be found untrue.”459 Ms.
Hutchings observed, “These factors are inherent in the prison culture and are the result of the
power disparity between staff and inmates, the solidarity of the security staff, and insularity of
prison culture.”460 Ms. Hutchings stated that a further disincentive that inmates have in reporting
staff sexual misconduct is DOCCS’ written policy warning inmates that making a false claim of
staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct may lead to discipline, including prosecution.461
To illustrate the deterrent effect of DOCCS’ policy, Ms. Hutchings presented a case study of an
inmate whom PLS represented in 2010 who complained of staff excessive force.462 According to
Ms. Hutchings, prior to contacting PLS, the inmate filed a grievance concerning a staff physical
assault, including a report to the superintendent of the facility where the assault allegedly
occurred.463 After an initial interview with a PLS staff attorney, the inmate confided that he had
450

Id. 12.
Id.
452
Id. 13.
453
Id. 12.
454
Hutchings Test. 1 (Apr. 22, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_apr11/testimony_hutchings.pdf. A portion of Ms. Hutchings testimony
appears in the Transcript of Record. See, Tr., K. Scheckner, 520:16-528:16.
455
Hutchings Test. 1.
456
Id.
457
Id.
458
Id.
459
Id. 2 (citation omitted).
460
Id.
461
Id. & n.2 (citing Directive No. 4028A).
462
Id. 2. Ms. Hutchings did not identify the DOCCS facility.
463
Id. 2-3.
451

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

also been sexually assaulted during the alleged excessive use of force, but he was afraid to
include the sexual misconduct claim in his grievance “out of ‘personal pride’ and because he
thought he would not be believed and would suffer retaliation.”464 Ms. Hutchings testified that
after speaking to the PLS attorney, the inmate felt sufficiently safe to amend his grievance to
include the sexual assault charge.465 After investigating the inmate’s grievance and dismissing it,
investigators instituted charges against the inmate, claiming that he lied based on the
inconsistencies in his grievances and the lack of medical evidence to prove his claim.466 At the
subsequent disciplinary hearing, despite the inmate’s explanation that he did not include the
sexual assault charge in the initial grievance because he feared retaliation and despite his citing
another DOCCS written policy that prohibits reprisal against an inmate who reports staff sexual
misconduct (and despite contesting the investigators’ understanding of the medical reports), the
hearing officer found the inmate guilty and imposed a penalty of nine months in isolated
confinement.467 Ms. Hutchings stated that on appeal the Director of Inmate Disciplinary
Programs affirmed the determination of guilt.468 Ultimately the PLS contacted the
Commissioner of DOCCS on the inmate’s behalf and obtained a reversal of the decision, but
only after the inmate had spent four months confined to the SHU.469
Ms. Hutchings stated that the details of this case study are important because it shows that the
very people entrusted with protecting inmates from reprisal failed to protect an inmate when he
made a charge of sexual misconduct against a staff member.470 Significantly, Ms. Hutchings
noted that the inmate’s initial fears about filing a sexual-misconduct grievance against a staff
member were justified; she contends that other inmates will cite his experience to confirm their
belief that reporting incidents of staff sexual misconduct results in retaliation.471
Similar to Mr. Krause’s concerns with the limited timeframe for filing grievances with TDCJ,
Ms. Hutchings criticized the grievance procedures at DOCCS because she believes there is
insufficient time to make claims of staff sexual misconduct.472 She cited a twenty-one day
deadline for filing a grievance, which may be extended to forty-five days for good cause.473 She
contended that these time limits do not sufficiently take into account the reluctance that many
inmates must overcome to file a sexual misconduct grievance against a staff member.474
Ms. Hutchings stated that based on her interviews with civilian victim advocates, who come to
local hospitals to assist inmates who are victims of sexual assault, she learned that prison security
staff routinely remain in the room during the meetings between victims and advocates.475 The
advocates reported that the presence of the security staff had a chilling effect, discouraging

464

Id. 3.
Id.
466
Id.
467
Id.
468
Id. 4.
469
Id. 5.
470
Id.
471
Id.
472
Id. 6.
473
Id.
474
Id.; see supra note 357.
475
Hutchings Test. 7.
465

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

inmates from speaking about staff perpetrators because they feared retaliation from the security
staff.476
Ms. Hutchings also dismissed the assertion that aggressive pat frisks could account for the high
level of reported staff sexual misconduct at Elmira. She wrote, “The notion that inmate reports
of staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct during pat frisks is based on the inmates’ misunderstanding
of invasiveness of a properly conducted pat frisk is misguided.”477 She said that an otherwise
proper pat frisk can become improper when it includes sexual taunts, when it is “unduly rough,
or when it involves unnecessary touching.”478 479
Ms. Hutchings offered five recommendations to reduce sexual victimization in DOCCS
facilities: (1) to revise disciplinary policies so that inmates need not fear retaliation based on
filing a complaint alleging staff sexual misconduct; (2) to transfer the responsibility for
processing inmate complaints alleging staff sexual misconduct to an agency outside DOCCS so
as to encourage inmates to file complaints; (3) to amend DOCCS written policies to give
additional time to inmates to file staff sexual misconduct complaints; (4) to ensure that meetings
between civilian victim advocates and victims of staff sexual misconduct can take place outside
the earshot of security staff; and (5) to develop a policy that would allow DOCCS to videotape
and review pat frisks.480
iv.

Facility-Specific Recommendations

In light of the testimony from Mr. Beck and Ms. Hutchings and other data relating to Elmira, the
Panel recommends that the administrators of Elmira look beyond the explanation of inmate
dissatisfaction with aggressive pat-frisk procedures as the cause for the high rate that the BJS
Report found of staff-on-inmate sexual victimization at the facility.481 To minimize any inmate
allegations of staff sexual misconduct associated with legitimate pat frisks, the Panel also
counsels the DOCCS to provide corrections staff with a refresher course on the proper
procedures for conducting a pat frisk. DOCCS should also appoint a PREA coordinator not only
for the system as a whole but for Elmira and each of the facilities in the New York prison
system. The PREA coordinators should track inmate complaints of sexual misconduct to ensure
that inmates are protected from reprisal when they make charges of sexual misconduct against
staff members.482 The PREA coordinators should also ensure that staff members who are

476

Id.
Id.
478
Id. 7-8.
479
Apart from her testimony, Ms. Hutchings drew the Panel’s attention to an article in the New York Post that
reported that an inmate at a state prison other than Elmira won a $300,000 settlement for an incident in 2007 when a
corrections officer roughly groped the inmate’s genitals during a pat frisk. Janon Fisher, Inmate Scores $300k for
Prison Grope, N.Y. POST, June 10, 2010, available at http://www.nypost.com. The trial judge in this matter said
that there was a clear, systemic problem in the management at the state prison facility where this incident occurred,
contributing “‘to an environment that allows the abuse of inmates to go unpunished.’” Id.
480
Hutchings Test. 8-9.
481
Given the lack of meaningful data related to Elmira complaint investigations, the Panel has concerns that the
current DOCCS investigation into the causes of the reported high rate of sexual victimization at Elmira (see Fischer
Test. 8) will yield information that prompts a significant change in policy or practice.
482
Nat’l Standards, 76 Fed. Reg. at 6299 (§ 115.365(a)).
477

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

involved in all aspects of an investigation into inmate sexual victimization are aware of their
roles and responsibilities.
DOCCS may also want to reconsider the rationale for its written policies that caution inmates
that they may face severe penalties for making a false charge of sexual misconduct against staff.
The proposed national standards note that as long as an inmate makes a report of sexual abuse in
good faith, the inmate should be protected from disciplinary sanctions even if the investigation
does not substantiate the allegation.483
The Panel strongly encourages Elmira administrators to undertake a careful review of the
documentation of complaint investigations. Without records that easily show the course of an
investigation and the results, neither managers nor outside observers can monitor the integrity of
the complaint process.
DOCCS should also revisit its procedures in providing appropriate support services to inmates
who have been targets of sexual assault. Victim advocates at local hospitals may be able to offer
support to traumatized inmates outside the earshot of security staff so that the inmates need not
fear staff retaliation.
3.

Common Themes

The Panel is mindful of the inherent limitations in drawing generalizations based on the
experiences of the five prisons it selected to appear at the April 2011 hearings. Nonetheless, in
carrying out its statutory mission to identify similarities and differences among low- and highincidence prisons, the Panel approached the testimony as illustrative case studies that help to
identify common themes. The Panel has previously written about the significance of institutional
culture in creating environments that either prevent or permit sexual victimization.484 Each of
the common themes that the Panel has identified below profoundly affects a prison’s culture.
a.

Recognizing Common Characteristics of Inmates Who
are Vulnerable to Sexual Abuse

The BJS Report emphasized that two groups of inmates are particularly vulnerable as targets of
sexual victimization: inmates who have had a prior history of being victims of sexual abuse and
inmates who identify as being other than heterosexual.485 The Panel’s review of sample
investigative records and the hearing testimony supports this finding.486
b.

Understanding Common Differences between Male and
Female Facilities

The Panel heard testimony that stressed understanding the differences in operating male and
female facilities.487 Of particular importance in female prisons is recognizing the relationship

483

Id. at 6300 (§ 115.377(f)).
Juvenile Justice Report 33.
485
BJS Report 14 & tbl.8, 15.
486
Owen Test. 4.
487
Id.; Tr., M. Brandin, 313:16-21.
484

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
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needs of women inmates.488 In creating prison cultures that protect women from sexual abuse, it
is important to recognize that self-esteem is a significant criminogenic factor for female
offenders.
c.

Understanding the Importance of Professional
Language in Establishing a Safe Environment

The importance of language in creating an institutional culture is an issue that the Panel heard
previously in its hearings on juvenile justice facilities;489 so it is not surprising that the Panel
received corroborative testimony at its prison hearings that the language that correctional officers
use in referring to inmates under their supervision, particularly female inmates, serves as an
indicator of whether an institution is committed to creating an environment that has zero
tolerance for sexual victimization of inmates.490 In prisons where inmates must bear verbal
harassment from the staff, the question arises as to whether other forms of mistreatment are
tolerated in the facility, including sexual abuse. This question is particularly significant in light
of the testimony the Panel heard from Fluvanna, which may be a case study in the linkage
between the alleged demeaning terms that the staff used to refer to the women in custody and the
reported high incidence of both inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate sexual victimization.491
d.

Recognizing the Vulnerability of Non-Heterosexual
Inmates and Their Need for Proper Treatment

Given that inmates who identify as being other than heterosexual are more likely to be targets of
sexual abuse while in custody,492 the way a prison treats non-heterosexual inmates may also be a
marker that indicates its commitment to preventing sexual victimization. The experience at
Fluvanna may again be instructive. If it is true, as alleged, that Fluvanna segregated lesbians and
masculine-appearing women into separate housing units and it also allowed its staff to refer to
these women in demeaning ways, then one would expect to find, as the BJS Report did, a facility
with a high rate of reported sexual victimization.493
A similar dynamic may also have been work at Allred in the context of responding to and
investigating grievances alleging sexual victimization from homosexual inmates, whom staff
referred to as “queens.” As mentioned previously, the Panel noted in its review of sample
investigative files that a significant number of complainants self-identified as homosexual.
Given Allred’s history of being a prison with a high rate of sexual victimization while having no
records substantiating sexual abuse—other than inappropriate relationships between female staff
members and male inmates, a question remains as to whether complaints from homosexual
inmates are treated as seriously as they deserve.494
488

Owen Test. 3.
Juvenile Justice Report 6 (citing Transcript of Record: Panel Hearings on Sexual Victimization in Juvenile
Correctional Facilities, T. Decker, 54:10-15 (June 3-4, 2010), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov//reviewpanel/pdfs_june10/transcript_060410.pdf).
490
Tr., B. Owen, 92:16-93:4.
491
BJS Report 8 tbl.2, 9 tbl.3.
492
Id. 14.
493
Id. 8 tbl.2.
494
National studies have found that a significant number of correctional officers believe that homosexual inmates
should not be protected from rape or that if homosexual inmates are raped, they got what they deserved. See
489

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e.

Strengthening the Integrity of the Entire Complaint
Process

An institution’s treatment of an inmate who alleges sexual abuse, either against another inmate
or a staff member, is a telling indicator of its culture. As the Panel learned from FCI Elkton, a
facility with a low incidence of sexual victimization, the prison takes every complaint seriously;
it is not up to staff members to decide whether an inmate is being manipulative or abusing the
grievance process. Complainants at FCI Elkton are also not immediately moved to segregation,
which inmates view understandably as punishment. In contrast, facilities with a high incidence
of sexual victimization appeared to have had a different approach. At Fluvanna, complainants
are placed in administrative segregation while the charge is being investigated, which may be a
number of weeks; at Elmira, the Panel heard testimony that inmates feared retaliation for coming
forward to make a complaint; and at Allred, despite more than sixty complaints of inmate-oninmate sexual victimization, the subsequent investigations did not substantiate even one claim.
Institutions with faulty documentation of investigative procedures may have a higher incidence
of sexual victimization. The Panel found that missing information from the investigative files at
Allred and Elmira—including such important information as an alleged perpetrator’s prior
history of predatory behavior and the ultimate disposition of an investigation—may suggest a
correspondence between lax investigative procedures and an institutional culture that permits the
sexual victimization of inmates.
There may be a correlation between outside oversight of investigations and the incidence of
sexual victimization. Notably, the Panel heard testimony that the BOP has management controls
that allow for periodic review of adherence to all institutional policies and procedures, including
investigations. The Panel also heard that the CCA’s central office carefully monitors
investigations into allegations of sexual abuse at all of its facilities. These approaches may
explain, at least in part, the relative successes of both FCI Elkton and Bridgeport. The Panel saw
no evidence that similar, regular outside monitoring of investigations was present at the
institutions with a reported high incidence of sexual victimization. The lack of such outside
oversight was also evident in the incomplete investigative files that these institutions sent to the
Panel to review.
The Panel also heard from victim advocates that prisons should consider enlarging the time
period that an inmate has for making a complaint. Given the trauma that a victim of sexual
assault endures, an inmate alleging sexual abuse may need more than a few weeks before he or
she may be in a position to make the charge.
The specter of retaliation may be a significant deterrent, pressuring inmates to be quiet when
they should come forward with a legitimate complaint against a staff member. Prisons that fail
to take reasonable steps to protect inmates from retaliation for filing a sexual abuse charge,
regardless of whether the investigation ultimately substantiates the charge, risk undermining the
entire complaint process.
Katherine Robb, What We Don’t Know Might Hurt Us: Subjective Knowledge and the Eighth Amendment’s
Deliberate Indifference Standard for Sexual Abuse in Prisons, 65 N.Y.U. ANN. SURV. AM. L. 705, 719 nn.69 & 70
(2010) (citing Peter L. Nacci & Thomas R. Kane, Sex and Sexual Aggression in Federal Prisons: Inmate
Involvement and Employee Impact, 48 FED. PROBATION 46, 48 (1984); Helen Eigenberg, Correctional Officers’
Definition of Rape in Male Prisons, 28 J. CRIM. JUST. 435, 442 (2000)).

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
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When inmates lose confidence in the grievance process and the resultant investigations, victims
of sexual abuse are unlikely to come forward.
f.

Providing Effective Victim Services

The services a prison provides to an inmate after a sexual assault demonstrate how seriously it
takes the issue of sexual victimization. The failure to provide comprehensive victim services to
an inmate alleging sexual abuse devalues the significance not only of the claim but also of the
individual making the claim.
Institutions that are relatively isolated from outside services may tend to have closed
environments that invite deviant behavior.495 When outside victim advocates are not available or
when their interactions with victims are not confidential, inmates may be less inclined to take
advantage of the support they need or report staff sexual misconduct.
There is a need for correctional institutions to collaborate with victim service providers. In many
states, victim advocates and, in particular, statewide sexual assault coalitions and rape crisis
centers seek to partner with correctional agencies in both preventing and responding to sexual
victimization.
g.

Equipping Staff to Respond Effectively to Inmate
Sexual Victimization

The Panel noted that institutions that either lacked a PREA coordinator or had an ineffective one
risked having a higher incidence of sexual abuse.
Many of the wardens who appeared at the hearings stressed the importance of providing their
staffs with appropriate training to deal with the particular challenges their facilities encounter in
dealing with sexual victimization. Notably, at Bridgeport and Fluvanna, the wardens stressed the
need to provide training to staff in operating a female facility and understanding the importance
of maintaining professional boundaries. The need for this training is no less needed at male
facilities such as Allred, where female staff members entered into inappropriate relationships
with male inmates. With each staff training program, however, it is important to identify the
desired outcome and then measure the staff’s progress toward achieving it.
4.

Topics for Further Study

The Panel encourages academics and practitioners to conduct additional research on the
following topics.
a.

Why are Homosexuality and Prior Victimization
Significant Indicators of Inmate Victims of Sexual
Abuse?

The Panel is interested in understanding more precisely the dynamics that make homosexual
inmates and inmates with a history of sexual victimization prior to coming to prison particularly
vulnerable to sexual aggression. There are a number of questions related to this issue. If having
a history of victimization attracts predators, how do inmates who have internalized this identity
495

See Nat’l Standards, 76 Fed. Reg. at 6282 (§ 115.53).

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
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convey this message? Are there effective tools that prior victims can access to protect
themselves in prison? Do negative attitudes of prison staff toward homosexual inmates play a
significant role in making the inmates particularly vulnerable to sexual assaults? If so, is there
effective training that engages these attitudes in a constructive way to create an environment that
protects homosexual inmates?
b.

What are the Distinctive Needs of Female Facilities in
Preventing Sexual Victimization?

The Panel is aware of the paucity of resources that are available to female correctional facilities
when it comes to serving the particular needs of female offenders. The Panel encourages
additional research into ways of creating healthy female prisons based on data that show the
relationship between institutional practices (e.g., policies on touching between inmates) and the
incidence of sexual victimization. The Panel also encourages the development of training tools
especially tailored to helping staff who work in female facilities in addressing such issues as
maintaining proper professional boundaries and creating an environment free of verbal
harassment.
B.

Jails
1.

Low-Incidence Jails
a.

Hinds County
i.

Facility Description

Located in Raymond, Mississippi, Hinds County, which opened in 2009, is a joint county and
state facility for men, which housed on August 9, 2011, 156 state inmates convicted of felonies
and fifty-six county inmates convicted of misdemeanors.496
The state inmates and the jail inmates occupy separate sections or “zones” of the jail, and they do
not interact with each other.497 Each zone can house up to 200 inmates at a time.498 The facility
consists of open bays, which afford correctional officers a clear line of sight to observe the
inmates at all times.499 All of the inmates are convicted on nonviolent charges; some are at the
facility for a few months, whereas others are at the facility for as long as five to eight years.500
None of the inmates has a sex-crime conviction, and state inmates have an incentive to abide by
the jail’s rules or they risk being sent back to state prisons where they would not have the same
level of freedom and variety of work assignments.501 The work assignments include such
496

Interview with John Hulsebosch, Deputy, HCSD, in Raymond, Miss. (Aug. 9, 2011) (on file with the Panel)
[hereinafter Hinds County Interview]. In response to the Panel’s Data Request, Hinds County provided no data
related to the capacity of the facility, the number and composition of inmates, and the number and composition of
staff. Hinds County Resp. 9-12, 23-27 (on file with the Panel).
497
Hinds County Interview 1.
498
Id. 3.
499
Id. 1, 4.
500
Id. 1.
501
Id. 3, 4.

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projects as cutting grass on state and county roads, assisting nonprofit organizations, and serving
on the facility’s volunteer fire department that serves the local community.502
The facility has eighty-seven staff members.503 All are sworn deputies, but only two or three are
certified deputies, which means that they completed training at a law-enforcement academy.504
The staff is male except for four females: two nurses, one kitchen worker, and one state
caseworker.505 During each shift, three staff members work in each zone.506
There were no suicides, attempted suicides, homicides, or attempted homicides at the facility in
2008 and 2009.507 There were also no reported allegations of sexual abuse of any kind at the
facility in either 2008 or 2009.508 Consequently, during the time period under review, there were
no investigations into allegations of sexual abuse, and no employees received discipline or were
terminated for sexual misconduct.509
Hinds County does not have a specific policy on preventing or responding to sexual
victimization.510 On touring the facility, the Panel did not observe any posters or other materials
that educate inmates on how to prevent or report sexual assault.511 In 2008 and 2009, Hinds
County did not have a PREA coordinator.512
ii.

Facility’s Explanation for Reported Low
Incidence of Sexual Victimization

Mr. Malcom McMillin, Sheriff of Hinds County, who is responsible for the operation of the
Hinds County facility, testified that the low incidence of sexual victimization at the work center
may be attributable to a number of factors, including the caliber and training of the correctional
officers, the design of the facility, the inmate population, and the work center’s communityservice programming.513
Sheriff McMillin noted that Hinds County deputies assigned to detention must complete eighty
hours of training to be certified, and there are no uncertified jailers at Hinds County.514 In
referring to his staff, Sheriff McMillin said, “They are trained to be fair but firm with those
individuals who are incarcerated in our facility, allowing them to be observant towards

502

Id. 2.
Id.
504
Id.
505
Id.
506
Id. 3.
507
Hinds County Resp. 13, 15.
508
Id. 29-33.
509
Id. 22.
510
Hinds County Interview 2.
511
Id.
512
Hinds County Resp. 2.
513
Tr., M. McMillin, 440:20-445:3. As he was not re-elected, at the end of calendar year 2011, Sheriff McMillin’s
term of office ended.
514
Id. 442:6-10; but see supra note 504.
503

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

conditions that might lead to possible sexual assault, and trusting enough for inmates to confide
in them should such an incident occur.”515
Sherriff McMillin said that the work center’s open-bay design, which allows for direct
supervision, deters sexual assault because it minimizes places where they could occur.516 He
also noted that the jail has a modern video surveillance system that detention officers monitor
twenty-four hours a day.517
According to Sheriff McMillin, the composition of the inmate population at Hinds County may
also be a factor in its low incidence of sexual assault, because all of the state inmates are
carefully selected as to their suitability in taking advantage of the programming provided by the
work center.518
Finally, Sheriff McMillin testified that the fact that Hinds County is a work center minimizes the
opportunities for sexual assault.519 He said there is constant supervision of inmates as they work
thirty hours each week at jobs in the facility and community.520 The assignments may include
working for nonprofit organizations such as the Mississippi Food Network and Habitat for
Humanity, serving in the facility-operated volunteer fire department, collecting litter, and
eradicating graffiti.521
Chief Deputy Steven Pickett observed that the inmates’ work in the community has a positive
impact on the culture of Hinds County, which has a low number of assaults, aggravated assaults,
and sexual assaults.522 He said that the community service that the inmates perform leads to a
greater sense of respect not only for themselves but for each other.523
iii.

Observations

Based on Hinds County’s response to the Data Request, the onsite visit, and the testimony that
the Panel received on Hinds County, the Panel notes that the low incidence of sexual
victimization in the jail may be attributable to many of the factors that Sheriff McMillin cited,
including the inmate population, which does not have any violent offenders. There are, however,
three factors that Sheriff McMillin identified that the Panel would like to underscore: prison
design, community service, and the caliber and training of the correctional officers. First,
although building design alone does not reduce sexual victimization of inmates, a correctional
facility that has a design that promotes direct supervision, eliminates hidden areas, and includes
monitored surveillance cameras can make the work of corrections administrators significantly
easier in preventing sexual abuse. Second, when inmates work on community-service projects,
their efforts not only benefit the neighboring communities they serve, but they also have a
515

Tr., M. McMillin, 442:12-18.
Id. 442:19-21, 443.
517
Id. 443:10-13.
518
Id. 443:2-7.
519
Id. 443:18-19.
520
Id. 443:20-444:1, 21.
521
Id. 444:1-3, 7-9, 22.
522
Id., S. Pickett, 449:20-450:2.
523
Id. 450:1-5.
516

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rehabilitative effect. Through community service, inmates have an opportunity to develop
greater self-respect, which then extends to the respectful treatment of other inmates in the
facilities where they live. Lastly, when corrections staff members are “firm but fair,” acting with
professional integrity in keeping with the organization’s mission, inmates will find them not only
approachable but also trusted to take necessary actions to address sexual impropriety.
b.

The Moss Center
i.

Facility Description

The Moss Center, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and completed in 1999, provides for direct
supervision of inmates; the facility is bright, light, and airy.524 The Moss Center houses both
male and female inmates at all custody levels, including a small number of juveniles.525 In
addition to inmates from Tulsa County, the Moss Center houses inmates detained by the U.S.
Marshals Service and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).526
On January 1, 2008, and on January 1, 2009, the rated capacity of the jail was 1714.527 On
January 1, 2008, there were 1390 inmates in the jail.528 In calendar year 2008, the total number
of inmates who spent any time at the Moss Center was 30,312; the average length of stay was
eighteen days; and the longest length of stay was 204 days.529 On January 1, 2009, there were
1359 inmates in the jail.530 Although the jail ordinarily functioned well below its rated capacity
in 2008 and 2009, on June 1, 2009, there were 1717 inmates present in the jail.531 In calendar
year 2009, the total number of inmates who spent any time at the Moss Center was 30,879; the
average length of stay was eighteen days; and the longest length of stay was 365 days.532
In calendar year 2008, the inmate composition at the Moss Center was as follows: 12,222 White
males; 4126 White females; 7414 African American males; 2274 African American females;
2586 Hispanic males; 200 Hispanic females; 894 Alaska Native or American Indian males; 383
Alaska Native or American Indian females; 189 males or other or unknown ancestry; and 24
females of other or unknown ancestry.533 In calendar year 2009, the inmate composition at the
Moss Center was as follows: 12,122 White males; 4414 White females; 6952 African American
males; 2074 African American females; 3681 Hispanic males; 257 Hispanic females; 863 Alaska
Native or American Indian males; 353 Alaska Native or American Indian females; 135 males of
other or unknown ancestry; and 28 females of other or unknown ancestry.534 The Moss Center
did not use the following three categories in tracking the racial or ethnic backgrounds of inmates

524

Interview with Stanley Glanz, Sheriff, TCSO, et al. in Tulsa, Okla. 1 (Aug. 17, 2011) (on file with the Panel).
Id.
526
Id.
527
Moss Center Resp. 9(a), 10(a) (on file with the Panel).
528
Id. 9(b).
529
Id. 9(f)-(h).
530
Id. 10(b).
531
Id. 10(d).
532
Id. 10(f)-(h).
533
Id. 11(a)-(c), (e), (g).
534
Id. 12(d), (f), (g).
525

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
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in 2008 and 2009: (1) Asian, (2) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and (3) two or more
races.535
The Moss Center reported that in 2008, there was one inmate suicide, twenty-five attempted
suicides, no homicides, and no attempted homicides.536 The suicide and attempted suicides in
2008 were not related to sexual victimization.537 The Moss Center reported that in 2009, there
was one suicide, nineteen attempted suicides, no homicides, and no attempted homicides.538 The
suicide and attempted suicides in 2009 were not related to sexual victimization.539
On January 1, 2008, the total number of authorized staff positions at the Moss Center was 340
(forty-three sworn and 297 non-sworn).540 The staffing level on January 1, 2008, was 333 (fortythree sworn and 297 non-sworn).541 On January 1, 2009, the total number of authorized staff
positions at the Moss Center was 339 (sixty-two sworn and 277 non-sworn).542 The staffing
level on January 1, 2008, was 339 (sixty-two sworn and 277 non-sworn).543
The Moss Center does not distinguish between sworn and non-sworn staff members.544 On
January 1, 2008, the ratio of staff members to inmates was one staff person per 4.17 inmates; on
January 1, 2009, the ratio of staff members to inmates was one staff person per 4.01 inmates.545
In calendar year 2008, one staff person was terminated from employment for sexual
misconduct.546 In calendar year 2009, on the basis of sexual misconduct, the Moss Center
terminated three staff members and allowed one to resign.547
There was one investigation of staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct in 2008 at the Moss Center and another
548
In the first incident, a male nurse allegedly observed a female juvenile while she
investigation in 2009.
549
was showering.
The investigation produced sufficient evidence to present the charge to the district
550
attorney, who then declined to prosecute.
In the second incident, a male detention officer allegedly
551
used coercion to perform oral sex on a male inmate.
The investigation produced sufficient evidence to
552
present the charge to the district attorney, who then prosecuted the case and obtained a conviction.
535

Id. 11(d), (f), (g); id. 12(d), (f), (g).
Id. 13.
537
Id. 14.
538
Id. 15.
539
Id. 16.
540
Id. 23(a)-(c).
541
Id. 23(d)(i), (e)(i), (f)(i). There appears to be a computing error in the data supplied by the Moss Center. If on
January 1, 2008, there were forty-three sworn and 297 non-sworn staff members actually present, the total would be
340 instead of the reported 333.
542
Id. 24(a)-(c).
543
Id. 24(d)(i), (e)(i), (f)(i).
544
Id. 25(m)-(n).
545
Id. 25(a), (e).
546
Id. 22(a) (2008).
547
Id. 22(a)-(b) (2009).
548
App. C (Moss Center Staff-on-Inmate Assaults); Moss Center Resp. 35.
549
Id. 35(g) (2008).
550
Id. 35(h), (j) (2008).
551
Id. 35(b), (g) (2009).
552
Id. 35(h), (j) (2009).
536

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

In 2008 and 2009, there were a total of six investigations into inmate-on-inmate sexual
victimization.553 The charges included forcible sodomy, sexual misconduct, sexual battery, and
attempted rape.554 Three of the charges involved unwanted touching that resulted in the
perpetrators receiving in-house discipline.555 The Moss Center presented two charges of sexual
victimization to the district attorney, who declined prosecution; one of the charges was sexual
assault, and the other was attempted rape.556 The facility also presented a charge of forcible oral
sodomy to the district attorney, who accepted the matter for prosecution.557
ii.

Facility’s Explanation for Reported Low
Incidence of Sexual Victimization

Mr. Stanley Glanz, Sheriff of Tulsa County, identified a number of factors that contributed to the
low incidence of sexual victimization at the Moss Center, but he particularly emphasized the
importance of staff training and the accreditation of the facility.558
Beginning in 2005, all employees who attended basic jail training received a four-hour session
on harassment, sexual awareness, and prison rape.559 Since 2008, the Moss Center’s training
division has also presented to new staff members information and resources related to PREA,
which were made available by the National Institute of Corrections (NIC).560
Through module training programs, which allow all employees who work in security areas to
receive from eighty to a hundred hours of in-service training annually by attending daily thirtyminute squad meetings, the Moss Center is able to provide continuing education courses to its
staff.561 One of these courses, entitled Sexual Harassment, includes the following materials:
Cross Gender Supervision; Sexual Harassment: An Innovative Perspective; Men, Women and
Respect; and Correctional Workplace Issues, Sexual Harassment in Corrections.562
Sheriff Glanz testified that there is a benefit that comes from having outside monitors; he noted
that the Moss Center and the TCSO have welcomed inspections, often related to meeting
accreditation standards, from the American Correctional Association (ACA), the National
Commission on Correctional Health Care, the Commission on Accreditation for Law
Enforcement Agencies, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Homeland
553

Id. 36. The Moss Center’s response to the Panel’s Data Request and the chart prepared by Creative Corrections
both agree that there were six investigations into inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization in calendar years 2008 and
2009; however, there is a discrepancy in the reported incidents. The second incident in 2009 described in the Moss
Center’s Response does not appear in the chart that Creative Corrections prepared based on the files that the facility
produced; also, the Moss Center does not account for incident five in Creative Corrections’ chart (see app. C (Moss
Center Inmate-on-Inmate Assaults)). The analysis here follows the Moss Center’s Response. See Tr., S. Glanz,
410:12.
554
App. C (Moss Center Inmate-on-Inmate Assaults).
555
Moss Center Resp. 36 (Incidents 2 & 3 in 2008; Incident 2 in 2009).
556
Id. (Incidents 1 & 3 in 2009).
557
Id. (Incident 1 in 2008).
558
Tr., S. Glanz, 429:1-2.
559
Moss Center Resp. 43(a).
560
Id.
561
Id. 43(b).
562
Id.

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Security.563 Sheriff Glanz observed that being open to outside inspection prevents sexual
assaults at the Moss Center.564 He noted that another deterrent to sexual victimization at the
facility, consistent with this openness, is the daily presence of hundreds of community volunteers
who work with inmates.565
According to the testimony that the Panel heard, other factors that contributed to the low
incidence of sexual victimization at the Moss Center are a corrections philosophy and a facility
design that promote direct supervision,566 a rapid response to and in-depth investigation of sexual
assaults,567 inmate programming that develops life skills,568 and an inmate classification system
based on behavior.569
In the written response to the Panel’s Data Request, Sheriff Glanz summarized the reasons for
the Moss Center’s success:
It is my belief that employees of this facility are proactive with sexual assault due
to their professionalism, the training that is given on a continual basis that
addresses such issues, the thoroughness of the investigations into every complaint
or allegation and that the management style is such that inmates are treated as
people.570
iii.

Observations

Sheriff Glanz noted that he has found reluctance on the part of prosecutors to pursue cases
involving female staff members who have entered into inappropriate relationships with male
inmates; however, prosecutors appear to be more inclined to take sexual misconduct cases
involving a male staff member and a male inmate.571 Sheriff Glanz said that he has found that
both federal and local authorities often decline to prosecute female staff members.572
In reviewing the reported incidents of sexual victimization at the Moss Center, the Panel found
documentation that a rape kit was provided in one instance to the complainant; however in two
instances the perpetrator was a repeat offender.573 Also, a review of the incidents showed that
even though the Moss Center had a contract with an outside vendor to provide mental health
services, the contract did not address specifically counseling for sexual assault victims.574 In
none of the reviewed cases was there documentation that the facility provided an advocate or

563

Tr., S. Glanz, 425:15-426:15.
Id. 427:21-428:4.
565
Id. 428:4-10.
566
Id. 412:4-413:7.
567
Id. 415:5-7.
568
Id., M. Robinette, 416:15-417:1, 417:13-418:2.
569
Id. 432:18-434:6.
570
Moss Center Resp. 46.
571
Tr., S. Glanz, 420:14-21.
572
Id. 421:8-18.
573
App. B 18, 19 (Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Facility (Jails)).
574
Id. 20.
564

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

counseling services to victims of sexual assault.575 The Moss Center may want to review its
practices in making available victim services to inmates who have been sexually assaulted.
Like Hinds County, the Moss Center is a modern building designed to support the philosophy of
direct supervision of inmates. Despite the significant differences between Hinds County and the
Moss Center, it may be no coincidence that the two jails that the Panel identified as having a low
incidence of sexual victimization share this common commitment. The Panel supports Sheriff
Glanz’s assessment that providing ongoing staff training and welcoming outside inspection—
whether through the accreditation process of professional organizations or the constant presence
of community volunteers—are invaluable tools in creating a jail culture that prevents sexual
victimization.
2.

High-Incidence Jails
a.

Clallam County
i.

Facility Description

Clallam County is located in Port Angeles, Washington. On January 1, 2008, and on January 1,
2009, the full rated capacity of Clallam County was 120.576 The actual number of inmates
present in the facility on January 1, 2008, was 125.577 In calendar year 2008, the total number of
inmates who spent any time at the jail was 44,544; the average length of stay was sixteen days;
and the longest stay of any inmate was 339 days.578 The actual number of inmates present in the
facility on January 1, 2009, was 126.579 In calendar year 2009, the total number of inmates who
spent any time at the jail was 43,781; the average length of stay was fourteen days; and the
longest stay of any inmate was 342 days.580
In calendar year 2008, the racial and ethnic composition of the total number of inmates at
Clallam County was as follows: 37,781 Whites, 1205 African Americans, 1574 Hispanics, 47
Asians, 3902 Alaska Natives or American Indians, no Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific
Islanders, and 45 inmates classified as other or unknown.581 In calendar year 2009, the racial and
ethnic composition of the total number of inmates at Clallam County was as follows: 36,827
Whites, 1736 African Americans, 886 Hispanics, 22 Asians, 4295 Alaska Natives or American
Indians, no Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, and 15 inmates classified as other or
unknown.582

575

Id.
Clallam County Resp. 9(a), 10(a) (on file with the Panel).
577
Id. 9(b).
578
Id. 9(f)-(h).
579
Id. 10(b).
580
Id. 10(f)-(h).
581
Id. 11(a)-(g). These figures total 44,554 instead of 44,544; the discrepancy is a reporting error attributable to
Clallam County. Clallam County does not collect inmate data under the category of two or more races.
582
Id. 12(a)-(g).
576

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

In 2008, there were no inmate suicides, homicides, or attempted homicides at Clallam County;
but there was a single attempted suicide.583 Clallam County provided no information on whether
the suicide attempt in 2008 had any connection with sexual victimization.584 In 2009, there were
no inmate suicides, homicides, or attempted homicides; however, there were nine suicide
attempts.585 None of the suicide attempts in 2009 involved sexual victimization.586
On January 1, 2008, and on January 1, 2009, the total number of authorized staff positions at
Clallam County was forty-one (forty-one sworn and no non-sworn).587 The staffing level on
January 1, 2008, was thirty-nine (thirty-nine sworn and no non-sworn).588 The staffing level on
January 1, 2009, was forty (forty sworn and no non-sworn).589 The ratio of sworn staff members
to inmates on January 1, 2008, was one staff person per 3.13 inmates; the ratio of sworn staff
members to inmates on January 1, 2009, was one staff person per 3.15 inmates.590
Clallam County reported that in 2008 and 2009, there were no allegations of sexual abuse
involving either inmates or staff.591
In 2008 and 2009, the jail did have a PREA coordinator.592 When inmates pick up telephones in
the facility they receive information on PREA and how to report sexual victimization.593
ii.

Facility’s Explanation for Reported High
Incidence of Sexual Victimization

Mr. William L. Benedict, Sheriff of Clallam County, contended that the BJS Report was in error
for reporting a high incidence of sexual victimization at Clallam County, because the jail simply
did not have any incidents of sexual abuse.594 He testified that shortly after he received the
results of the survey he went to the FBI to request an investigation and he went on a local radio
station to request anyone who was a victim at Clallam County to come forward.595 Sheriff
Benedict said he respected the confidentiality and anonymity of those inmates who participated
in the BJS survey, but by requesting victims to contact his office he wanted information.596
Sheriff Benedict said that he broadcast the PREA hotline number to the public so that it could
report instances of sexual abuse at the jail, and he also contacted the public defenders and
requested any information regarding clients who might be victims.597 Despite all of these efforts,
Sheriff Benedict testified that no one has ever come forward to claim being a victim of sexual
583

Id. 13.
Id. 14.
585
Id. 15.
586
Id. 16.
587
Id. 23(a)-(c), 24(a)-(c).
588
Id. 23(d)(i), (e)(i), (f)(i).
589
Id. 24(d)(i), (e)(i), (f)(i).
590
Id. 25(a), (e).
591
Id. 22, 30-33.
592
Id. 2.
593
Tr., G. Christensen, 263:7-10.
594
Id., W. Benedict, 221:11-13.
595
Id. 221:14-15, 221:22-222:3.
596
Id. 222:5-6, 11.
597
Id. 222:20-21, 223:2-5.
584

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

abuse while housed at Clallam County.598 Sheriff Benedict said that he also received a letter
from the head of the public defenders, who concurred with him in questioning whether any
sexual abuse occurred in the jail; Sheriff Benedict noted that the head of the public defenders
would know about sexual abuse in the jail because he interviews every inmate.599 Sheriff
Benedict also said that the FBI reported to him that there was no evidence that his staff was
abusing inmates and until it could find a victim there was nothing the FBI could do.600 Sheriff
Benedict pointedly observed, “[T]here are no victims.”601
Sheriff Benedict stated that he did not question the methodology of the BJS survey, its accuracy,
its internal safeguards to identify dissemblers, or the veracity of inmates.602 He also said that he
also understood that prison rape happens and that it needs to be eliminated.603 He did, however,
question what the survey actually measures; he contended that in addition to gathering data on
sexual misconduct, the survey may reflect a “cultural delusion.”604 Sheriff Benedict argued that
the survey results may be understood in reference to the fantasy that a significant number of
people sincerely believe that they have been abducted and sexually molested by aliens:
I think there is, for lack of a better term—and I’ve done some research on this—
there is a factor that I’ll call cultural delusion. And it is very prevalent in our
society, and I’ll give you an example. You may think it’s far off, but it is very
true.
Many surveys have been done, and it shows that between fifty and seventy
percent of our population believe in UFOs. . . . Does that prove that they exist?
No. But there is a subset of that which says two percent of the general population
that believe—and survey after survey concludes this—that believe that they have
been abducted by aliens, have gone to the mother ship. Some of them have been
sexually abused in the mother ship.605
Sheriff Benedict said that the frequency of reported alien abductions is unlikely, yet he infers that
this cultural phenomenon may be a useful reference in thinking about inmate responses to the
BJS survey.606 He noted that many inmates suffer from PTSD as well as mental illness; and so,
despite facts to the contrary, they may sincerely believe that they have been the victims of sexual
abuse by another inmate or a staff member.607 He suggested that the survey should filter out
these self-deluded responses; the survey’s current capacity to screen out inconsistent responses is
insufficient because it does not eliminate responses from inmates who are convinced that their
598

Id. 222:22-223:2. Sheriff Benedict stated that there was one reported incident of an attorney who engaged in
sexual misconduct while visiting a client in a sealed attorney-client booth at the jail, a place the jail cannot observe;
the attorney was not a staff member. Sheriff Benedict immediately suspended the attorney from the jail and took
measures to have him disbarred. Id. 223:6-17.
599
Id. 223:18-22.
600
Id. 262:10-15.
601
Id. 224:15; see also id. 266:7-8, 274:15-16.
602
Id. 227:22-228:3, 230:17-18, 268:20-21, 270:12-18.
603
Id. 226:4-6.
604
Id. 227:18-21, 228:12-17.
605
Id. 228:12-229:4.
606
Id. 229:11-13.
607
Id. 229:17-22.

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

delusions of sexual abuse are real.608 Sheriff Benedict observed, “[W]ith human beings, belief is
often as powerful as experience.”609
Sheriff Benedict also questioned the results in the BJS Report based on extrapolating the survey
results to the yearly population size at Clallam County.610 He said that if as the BJS Report
showed, eight percent of the daily population at the jail experienced sexual victimization, the
Sheriff speculated that with roughly 4000 bookings per year, which the Sheriff then halved to
take into account repeat offenders, there would be approximately 160 people who have
experienced sexual abuse in the jail every year (i.e., eight percent of 2000).611 He noted that if
these numbers were true, then there would be 800 victims since he took office five years ago.612
Contesting these results, Sheriff Benedict said, “Now surely one of them would have come
forward to say, ‘I’m one of those victims.’ I didn’t get that.”613 He also noted that he receives
400 inmate complaints each year, and none of them had to do even with sexual harassment.614
iii.

Observations

The Panel appreciates that given the absence of any in-house records of sexual abuse and the
reluctance of any victims to come forward, Sheriff Benedict sincerely questions the validity of
the BJS Report as it pertains to Clallam County. Nonetheless, the Panel relies on the science and
integrity of the BJS survey and defers to the BJS to address any of Sheriff Benedict’s lingering
concerns. As previously noted, during the reporting period of the BJS Report, there were
instances in which an attorney, who was not an employee of Clallam County, allegedly exposed
himself to inmates.615 Reference to these instances might have contributed, at least in part, to the
BJS’ findings.
iv.

Facility-Specific Recommendations

Based on its site visit, the Panel found that the design of Clallam County is quite dated; it uses a
holding tank with double bunks to house most of its inmates. Clallam County is also in varying
states of disrepair, lacking cleanliness. The facility operates in a manner that limits direct
observation of inmates.616 While touring the facility, the Panel observed that the windows of
every unit were covered completely with magnetic covers, which were designed to prevent
inmates from looking outward.617 These covers, however, also prevented correctional officers
from looking in on the inmates on a routine basis; consequently, inmates perceived that they
were not being watched at any time other than during security tours.618 To remedy what the
Panel identified as a safety issue, Sheriff Benedict reported that he took this observation to heart
608

Id. 230:1-5.
Id. 271:10-11.
610
Id. 232:1-11.
611
Id.
612
Id.; id. 235:15-16.
613
Id. 232:12-13.
614
Id. 235:10-12.
615
See supra note 598.
616
Tr., W. Benedict, 237:18-20.
617
Id., G. Christensen, 236:11-15.
618
Id. 236:10-21.
609

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

and was in the process of replacing the film on the windows with a one-way coating that would
still prevent inmates from looking outward but would allow correctional officers to see into units
where inmates are.619 The Panel also observed that there was a lack of privacy in the boxes used
for collecting grievance forms from inmates, and the Panel suggested that Clallam County might
consider ways to guarantee the confidentiality of the grievance process.620 Sheriff Benedict
noted the concern and said that he would address it.621 The Panel also observed that even though
the facility’s telephones advised inmates about PREA, there were no posted placards that
informed them of the jail’s policies on the prevention of sexual victimization.622 The Panel
recommends placing in the jail posters that inmates can readily view that have information on
reporting sexual victimization.
b.

Miami-Dade PTDC
i.

Facility Description

The PTDC, located in Miami, Florida, and opened in 1961, is a high-rise facility, just one of six
housing units of the MDCR.623 It was originally designed to process through its receiving area
eighty inmates per day or 30,000 inmates per year.624 Today the PTDC processes 300 inmates
per day or 110,000 per year.625 The PTDC houses only male inmates, and many are classified as
among the most violent offenders in the MDCR jail system.626
On January 1, 2008, and on January 1, 2009, the number of inmates at the PTDC at its full rated
capacity was 1400.627 The actual number of inmates present at PTDC on January 1, 2008, was
1556.628 The number of inmates at PTDC frequently exceeded the full rated capacity in 2008
(e.g., on March 1, 2008, there were 1767 inmates; on June 1, 2008, there were 1570 inmates; and
on September 1, 2008, there were 1659 inmates).629 In 2008, the total number of inmates who
spent any time at the facility was 118,080; the average length of an inmate’s stay was just over
twenty-two days; and the longest length of stay of any inmate was 3884 days.630 On January 1,
2009, the actual number of inmates present at PTDC was 1365.631 Although the number of
inmates at PTDC in 2009 at times exceeded its capacity, the inmate population was significantly
closer to the rated capacity and at times even less (e.g., on March 1, 2009, there were 1436
inmates; on June 1, 2009, there were 1432 inmates; and on September 1, 2009, there were 1341

619

Id., W. Benedict, 237:8-15.
Id., G. Christensen, 260:9-17.
621
Id., W. Benedict, 260:18-20.
622
Id., G. Christensen, 263:10-11.
623
Ryan Test. 2 (Apr. 15, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_sept11/testimony_ryan.pdf. Director Ryan’s testimony also appears in
the Transcript of Record. See Tr., T. Ryan, 284:12-301:6.
624
Ryan Test. 2.
625
Id.
626
Id.
627
PTDC Resp. 9(a), 10(a) (on file with the Panel).
628
Id. 9(b).
629
Id. 9(c)-(e).
630
Id. 9(f)-(h).
631
Id. 10(b).
620

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

inmates).632 In 2009, the total number of inmates who spent any time at the PTDC was 109,899;
the average length of an inmate’s stay was over twenty-one days; and the longest stay of any
inmate was 4249 days.633
In 2008, for the total number of inmates at PTDC, the racial and ethnic composition was as
follows: 14,784 Whites; 49,800 African Americans; 53,452 Hispanics; 25 Asians; 13 Alaska
Natives or American Indians; no Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders; no inmates
identifying as belonging to two or more races; and 6 inmates of unknown racial or ethnic
heritage.634 In 2009, for the total number of inmates at PTDC, the racial and ethnic composition
was as follows: 13,363 Whites; 45,943 African Americans; 50,537 Hispanics; 34 Asians; 17
Alaska Natives or American Indians; no Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders; no inmates
identifying as belonging to two or more races; and 5 inmates of unknown racial or ethnic
heritage.635
In 2008, at PTDC there were no suicides, homicides, or attempted homicides; there were,
however, six attempted suicides.636 In 2009, at PTDC there were no suicides, homicides, or
attempted homicides; there were again, however, eight attempted suicides.637 The PTDC
reported that the attempted suicides in 2008 and 2009 were not related to staff-on-inmate or
inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization.638
On January 1, 2008, the total number of authorized staff positions at PTDC was 429 (397 sworn
and thirty-two non-sworn).639 The staffing level at PTDC on January 1, 2008, was 342 (294
sworn and forty-eight non-sworn).640 On January 1, 2009, the total number of authorized staff
positions at PTDC was 378 (350 sworn and twenty-eight non-sworn).641 The staffing level at
PTDC on January 1, 2009, was 340 (296 sworn and forty-four non-sworn).642
On January 1, 2008, the ratio of sworn staff to inmates was one to sixteen; on January 1, 2009,
the ratio of sworn staff to inmates was one to fourteen.643
In 2008 and 2009, the PTDC initiated nine investigations into inmate-on-inmate sexual
assaults.644 The charges included rape and sexual assault.645 In each case, either the complainant
632

Id. 10(c)-(e).
Id. 10(f)-(h).
634
Id. 11.
635
Id. 12. The PTDC reported that the total number of inmates in 2009 was 109,899, but the data it provided to the
Panel on the racial and ethnic composition of the total inmate population accounted for only 109,865.
636
Id. 13.
637
Id. 15.
638
Id. 14, 16.
639
Id. 23(a).
640
Id. 23(d)(i), (e)(i), (f)(i). The numbers do not include staff members on scheduled leave.
641
Id. 24(a).
642
Id. 24(d)(i), (e)(i), (f)(i). The numbers do not include staff members on scheduled leave.
643
Id. 25(a), (e).
644
App. C (PTDC Inmate-on-Inmate Assaults). Lt. Eric Garcia, Special Victims Bureau, Miami-Dade Police
Department (MDPD), testified that his unit investigated eleven sexual assault cases in 2008 and 2009, but it is
unclear from his testimony whether these investigations were limited to the PTDC or involved other MDCR units.
Tr., E. Garcia, 328:17-19. Lt. Garcia testified that out of the eleven cases that his unit investigated, one resulted in
633

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

rescinded the charge or the evidence did not support the allegation.646 In 2008 and 2009, the
PTDC conducted three investigations into staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct.647 The charges
included sexual misconduct and an inappropriate relationship with an inmate.648 In the first case,
the investigation did not substantiate the underlying charge, but it found that staff members
failed to report the matter immediately to the appropriate supervisor.649 In the second case, the
investigation substantiated the charges against a female officer, finding that she had an
inappropriate relationship with a male inmate and that she introduced contraband into the jail;
PTDC terminated her employment.650 In the third case, the investigation found insufficient
evidence to support the charge.651
In 2008 and 2009, based on sexual misconduct, the PTDC terminated three staff members and
disciplined one staff member.652
ii.

Facility’s Explanation for Reported High Incidence of
Sexual Victimization

The MDCR did not provide an explanation for the high incidence of sexual victimization at the
PTDC, contending that its own internal review did not support the findings of the BJS Report:
“MDCR respectfully disputes the characterization of a high incidence of sexual victimization at
the PTDC facility during the years 2008 and 2009. An analysis of empirical data by MDCR and
MDPD do not corroborate such a finding.”653
Mr. Timothy P. Ryan, Director, MDCR, reminded the Panel in his testimony that few jails in the
United States have undergone the level of scrutiny his has, which has included a recent
investigation by the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, which resulted in
adverse findings based on the MDCR’s noncompliance with the Civil Rights of Institutionalized
Persons Act (CRIPA).654
For the Panel to understand the MDCR, Mr. Ryan offered basic information about the jail system
in Miami-Dade County.655 A sheriff does not oversee the system; instead, MDCR reports to the
Mayor of Miami-Dade County and the Board of County Commissioners.656 The MDCR is the
an arrest and prosecution; one was unfounded; and as to the remaining nine cases, either the victim chose not to
continue with the investigation or the State Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute. Id. 330:4-16.
645
App. C (PTDC Inmate-on-Inmate Assaults).
646
Id.
647
Id.
648
Id.
649
Id. (Incident 1).
650
Id. (Incident 2).
651
Id. (Incident 3).
652
PTDC Resp. 22.
653
PTDC Resp. 46.
654
Ryan Test. 1; see also Letter of Finding from Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights
Division, U.S. Department of Justice, to Carlos E. Gimenez, Mayor, Miami-Dade County (Aug. 24, 2011), available
at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/Miami-Dade_findlet_8-24-11.pdf [hereinafter MDCR Letter of
Finding].
655
Ryan Test. 1.
656
Id.

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eighth largest jail system in the United States.657 The jail system operates under Florida rules
that require correctional certification, not law enforcement certification; this means that the
Miami-Dade Police Department investigates criminal matters involving PREA in the jail
system.658 Mr. Ryan stated that the MDCR is not a single jail facility, but is comprised of six
housing units, serving at the time of the hearing 6000 inmates.659 Mr. Ryan noted that the
current inmate population is significantly smaller than the inmate population at the time of the
BJS survey in 2008 when the inmate population was 7400.660 He stated that the inmate
population is 8% female and 92% male, whereas the custodial staff is 53% female and 47%
male.661
Mr. Ryan noted that the prison system receives arrestees from thirty-seven jurisdictions at the
rate of one every four minutes, and one in five of these arrestees is mentally ill.662 The inmate
population of the MDCR is 84% pre-sentence, while 16% are sentenced.663
Mr. Ryan said that to become a correctional officer at MDCR requires passing a rigorous written
test, a background check, psychological screening, and a medical examination.664 He said that in
his department’s last recruitment effort, there were 1700 applicants but only 150 received offers
of employment.665 Once selected, a recruit must successfully pass a twenty-two-week academy,
which includes training on PREA; on completion of the academy, the recruit must successfully
pass a state-certification examination, receive thirty days of intensive orientation, and serve a
one-year probationary period.666 All correctional officers must be recertified every four years,
which requires retraining on such topics as PREA.667 Mr. Ryan said that NIC’s online training
on PREA is being provided to all staff, and at the time of promotion as well as at other times,
supervisors and managers receive in-service training, which includes information on PREA.668
He said that at the time of the hearing 2800 MDCR staff members (95%) have completed the
NIC’s online PREA course.669
In describing the PTDC, Mr. Ryan observed, “This facility is considered a first generation jail
with indirect supervision as its model which means that inmates are not under constant
observation by staff.”670 Mr. Ryan said, “Like most of the urban jails designed and built in the
1950s and 1960s, it was not anticipated that it would incarcerate the numbers and types of
violent inmates it has been called upon to house today.”671

657

Id.
Id.
659
Id.
660
Id.
661
Id. 2.
662
Id. 2.
663
Id. 2-3.
664
Id. 2.
665
Id.
666
Id.
667
Id.
668
Id.
669
Id. 4.
670
Id. 3 (underscoring omitted).
671
Id.
658

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

Mr. Ryan reported, “Since taking the leadership role at Miami-Dade County, I did discover that
even though there had long been policies and procedures addressing sexual misconduct, the
PREA initiative had not been fully embraced.”672 To remedy this situation, Mr. Ryan said that
he took the following steps: distributing videos to the staff that conveyed the institution’s zero
tolerance for fraternization with inmates; developing and updating the institutional policy
addressing PREA; revising the inmate handbook to include a reference to the institution’s
intolerance of sexual misconduct; posting PREA placards in three languages in all six housing
units; incorporating information on PREA into annual and in-service training programs for staff;
including information on PREA in new-employee orientation; improving intake, medical, and
classification procedures to identify potential victims of sexual assault and predators; installing a
rape-crisis hotline that is available from every inmate telephone; contracting with outside
organizations (e.g., Just Detention International (JDI), The Moss Group, Inc.) to provide
technical assistance to assess institutional needs and provide specialized training on investigating
sexual assaults; installing surveillance cameras in housing units; and implementing wordrecognition software that will identify incident reports with sexually related language.673 Mr.
Ryan also said that he also strongly believes in meeting national professional standards for
correctional facilities, which has meant obtaining accreditation from the ACA for some of the
units at the MDCR; the MDCR is in the process of obtaining ACA accreditation for its other
units, including the PTDC.674
Mr. Ryan noted that since 2007, the incidence of inmate-on-inmate violence dropped 54%, from
162 incidents in March 2007 to seventy-five in 2011.675 He also reported that use-of-force
reports have dropped 78% since 2008, from fifty-four events in March 2008 to twelve events in
March 2011.676
Mr. Ryan mentioned that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) produced a troubling
documentary on MDCR operations that was useful in facing the “age old problem between
policy and practice.”677 One of the problems that the BBC documentary highlighted, especially
for female staff, is male inmates masturbating in their presence.678 Mr. Ryan said that this is an
issue in which the MDCR is still seeking answers.679 He noted that the MDCR has been
unsuccessful in having the State Attorney’s Office prosecute inmates for this behavior, which
means that the only available response is administrative discipline.680 Mr. Ryan said that
recently the MDCR has provided staff members who have encountered this situation with
counseling services from in-house psychologists.681

672

Id.
Id. 3-4.
674
Id. 4-5.
675
Id. 5-6.
676
Id. 6.
677
Id. 5.
678
Id. 6.
679
Id.
680
Id.
681
Id.
673

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails

iii.

Observations

During the Panel’s onsite tour of the PTDC, the Panel saw that there were numerous posters
providing information to inmates on reporting and preventing sexual victimization.682 The tour
also raised for the Panel a number of concerns. The Panel observed black sheets enclosing the
shower area and recognized them as a potential security risk.683 Responding to the Panel’s
concern, Captain John W. Johnson of the MDCR said that the PTDC was in the process of
replacing the black shower curtains with opaque ones.684
Although the Panel commends the MDCR’s installation of additional surveillance cameras in
housing units, the Panel found during its tour of the PTDC that staff members assigned to
monitoring the cameras were not properly trained; they could not use the cameras to pan an area
or focus on a particular inmate.685 Again, Captain Johnson reported that the MDCR has taken
steps to remedy this problem; one of those steps has been issuing a post order for the monitoring
station, which explains the responsibilities of the correctional officers assigned to this task.686
The Panel was troubled during the tour of the PTDC’s mental health unit to encounter an
unclothed inmate.687 Dr. Eloisa C. Montoya, Mental Health Services Manager, MDCR, and Dr.
Mercy Mary Gonzales, Interim Associate Medical Director, MDCR, explained that this was an
unusual occurrence, as the inmate had been issued a Ferguson gown and blanket in accordance
with standard procedures, but he disrobed just before the Panel’s visit.688
The discussion that the Panel had with Director Ryan during the hearing highlighted a number of
broader issues that may warrant further exploration. Among the topics that might benefit the
corrections field as a whole are the difficulties that district attorneys have in accepting for
prosecution inmate sexual abuse cases,689 the different challenges of urban and rural jails,690 the
impact that facility architecture has on keeping inmates safe,691 and the vulnerability that some
female staff members have in developing inappropriate relationships with male inmates.692
The Panel concurs with Director Ryan’s assessment of the challenges in implementing PREA
standards in a large urban jail, which include having committed leadership at the top,693 having
in place good policies,694 and having effective, comprehensive training for all staff members.695
The Panel also agrees with Director Ryan’s assessment of the need to advocate for cultural
682

Tr., R. Wilkinson, 311:18-21.
Id. 304:6-9.
684
Id., J. Johnson, 304:10-15.
685
Id., R. Wilkinson, 307:10-13, 17-19.
686
Id., J. Johnson, 308:4-13.
687
Id., R. Wilkinson, 308:18-309:4.
688
Id., E. Montoya, 309:14-17, 19-22; id., M. Gonzales, 310:8-11.
689
Id., T. Ryan, 317:2-8, 322:1-323:1.
690
Id. 342:18-343:1.
691
Id. 343:2-18.
692
Id. 345:3-16.
693
Id. 319:13-14.
694
Id. 319:20-21.
695
Id. 320:4-15.
683

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change, not only in an America in which joking about sexual assaults in prisons and jails remains
pervasive, but also among the people who work in the field of corrections:696
[W]e have a cultural change to make as well, to recognize that our jails and
prisons should not have [sexual assaults] going on; that as a profession, we do not
tolerate those things.
And that message, I don’t think has gotten out, that we have not done a good job
of marketing ourselves as to what we really do believe in.697
iv.

Facility-Specific Recommendations

In reviewing the section in the handbook for inmates on reporting and preventing sexual abuse,
the Panel found that the information could be more accessible to inmates. In particular, the Panel
found the printing was small and that some of the language was too technical (e.g., a reference to
carnal knowledge), making the information difficult for inmates with limited education to
understand.698 The Panel recommends reviewing this section in the inmate handbook, as well as
other educational materials, to make sure that the information on reporting and preventing sexual
victimization is readily accessible to inmates.
The Panel remains troubled by the August 2011 CRIPA findings of the U.S. Department of
Justice and encourages the MDCR to work closely with the Special Litigation Section of the
Civil Rights Division in implementing all of the recommendations in the Letter of Finding,
particularly those dealing with prisoner violence.699 Toward this end, the Panel also encourages
the MDCR to continue seeking the assistance of outside advocacy and professional organizations
to create a jail environment in which inmates are protected from sexual victimization.
c.

OPP
i.

Facility Description

The South White Street Jail in New Orleans, Louisiana, is one of a number of housing units at
the OPP, which also include Old Parish Prison, the House of Detention (HOD), the Tents,
Conchetta, and Templeman V.700 In response to the Panel’s initial Data Request for the South
White Street Jail, the OPP stated that this housing unit at its full rated capacity on January 1,
2008, and on January 1, 2009, was 288.701 The actual number of inmates present in the facility
on January 1, 2008, was 176.702 In 2008, the total number of inmates who spent any time at the
South White Street Jail was 5089; the average length of stay was almost fifteen days; and the
696

Id. 320:17-321:6.
Id. 321:3-9.
698
Id., R. Wilkinson, 323:2-22.
699
MDCR Letter of Finding 36-37.
700
Cumming Test. 1 (Apr. 15, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_sept11/testimony_cumming.pdf. Ms. Cumming’s testimony also
appears in the Transcript of Record. See Tr., E. Cumming, 83:9-94:10.
701
OPP Resp. 9(a), 10(a) (on file with the Panel).
702
Id. 9(b).
697

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Review Panel on Prison Rape
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longest length of stay of any inmate was 365 days.703 The actual number of inmates present in
the facility on January 1, 2009, was 185.704 In 2009, the total number of inmates who spent any
time at the South White Street Jail was 5371; the average length of stay was a little over eighteen
days; and the longest length of stay of any inmate was 364 days.705
In 2008, for the total number of inmates at the South White Street Jail, the racial and ethnic
composition was as follows: 1149 Whites, 3716 African Americans, 172 Hispanics, and 52
Asians.706 In 2009, for the total number of inmates at the South White Street Jail, the racial and
ethnic composition was as follows: 1169 Whites, 4167 African Americans, 11 Hispanics, and 24
Asians.707 The OPP reported that in both 2008 and 2009, there were no inmates who identified
as Alaska Native or American Indian, as Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or as
belonging to two or more races.708
In 2008, the OPP reported that at the South White Street Jail, there were no suicides, no
attempted suicides, no homicides, and the number of attempted homicides was unknown.709 In
2009, the OPP reported that at the South White Street Jail, there were no suicides, no homicides,
two attempted suicides, and the number of attempted homicides was unknown.710 The OPP
stated that neither of the attempted suicides in 2009 was related to sexual victimization or
interactions with either staff members or other inmates.711
In response to the Panel’s Supplemental Data Request after the closure of the South White Street
Jail, the OPP stated that the total inmate population was “3,279, [i]f you mean the female
population, they are located in Templeman V, and the House of Detention & the Intake and
Processing Center . . . .”712 713
The OPP explained that it hired staff for all of the OPP units, not just for the South White Street
Jail.714 Nonetheless, the OPP provided the Panel with information on the number of staff
assigned to the South White Street Jail for each month in 2008 and 2009.715 Based on the
staffing pattern that the OPP supplied to the Panel, in 2008, the average number of staff members
working each month at the facility was 34; in 2009, the average number of staff members
working each month at the facility was 30.716 Despite this reported information, the OPP also
stated that the total number of staff positions at the South White Street Jail, whether filled or
vacant, at full capacity on January 1, 2008, was twenty-six, with nineteen being sworn staff
703

Id. 9(f)-(h).
Id. 10(b).
705
Id. 10(f)-(h).
706
Id. 11(a)-(d).
707
Id. 12(a)-(d).
708
Id. 11(e)-(g), 12(e)-(g).
709
Id. 13.
710
Id. 15.
711
Id. 16.
712
OPP Supp. Resp. 4 (on file with the Panel).
713
The Panel received testimony that at the time of the hearing, the total capacity of the OPP was 3563 beds. Tr., J.
Ursin, 190:7.
714
OPP Resp. 20, 21.
715
Id.
716
Id.
704

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members.717 In response to the Panel’s request for staffing information in 2009 at the South
White Street Jail, the OPP directed the Panel to “refer to the above question for the year 2009;”
but the referenced question was about staffing in 2008.718 The Panel construed the OPP’s
response to mean that the staffing levels at the South White Street Jail in 2008 and 2009 were the
same. In 2008, the daily ratio of sworn staff to inmates at the South White Street Jail was 1 to
5.5 (thirty-two sworn staff to 176 inmates); in 2009, the daily ratio of sworn staff to inmates was
1 to 5.2 (thirty-five sworn staff to 185 inmates).719
The OPP reported that in 2008 and 2009, it did not discipline or terminate any employees based
on sexual misconduct, nor did it allow any employees to resign for similar misbehavior.720
The OPP’s Special Operations Division (SOD) investigates all criminal matters, whereas its
Internal Affairs Division investigates administrative violations of policies and procedures.721
The SOD has jurisdiction over allegations of sexual abuse because “[a]ll incidents alleging
sexual misconduct are considered criminal violations.”722 The SOD reported that it did not
conduct any investigations involving sexual abuse at the South White Street Jail in either 2008 or
2009.723 Moreover, SOD reported that it did not have “any incident reports pertaining to sexual
abuse from the South White Street Facility in 2008 or 2009;”724 it did not have “any disciplinary
records pertaining to female inmate(s) for sexual abuse in 2008 or 2009;”725 it did not have “any
grievance(s) from any female inmate regarding alleged sexual abuse in 2008 or 2009;”726 and
“[t]here were no reported allegations of sexual assault from the South White Street Facility in
2008 or 2009 . . . .”727
After the Panel expanded its inquiry beyond the South White Street Jail, it received investigative
files from OPP relating not only to the two inmates whom the Panel named in its Supplemental
Data Request but also to fourteen inmate-on-inmate sexual assaults in calendar years 2008 and
2009.728 Of those incidents, only two were substantiated.729 Both substantiated incidents were
sexual assaults that occurred in 2009, one involving digital penetration and another involving a
broomstick.730 In both instances, the perpetrators were arrested.731 In the case involving digital
penetration, the district attorney declined to prosecute; in the case involving the broomstick, the

717

Id. 23(a)-(b).
Id. 24; see id. 23.
719
Id. 24(a), (e).
720
Id. 22; see also id. 31.
721
OPP Supp. Resp. 10.
722
Id.
723
OPP Resp. 29.
724
Id. 30.
725
Id. 32.
726
Id. 33.
727
Id. 35.
728
OPP Supp. Resp. (rape investigations 2008 and 2009). Aside from the investigations involving the named
inmates in the Supplemental Data Request, OPP submitted to the Panel fourteen cases with one electronic file that
the Panel could not open.
729
Id.
730
Id.
731
Id.
718

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investigative file did not have information on the outcome of the case.732 In one investigation
into an inmate-on-inmate sexual assault, despite the inmate’s allegation of rape, the investigative
team concluded that the sexual encounter was consensual.733 The investigative files showed that
in more than half of the cases, the OPP provided the complainants with a medical
examination.734
ii.

Facility’s Explanation of Reported High
Incidence of Sexual Victimization

Elected in 2004, Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin N. Gusman provided the Panel with a notarized
written statement dated September 15, 2011.735 Sheriff Gusman reminded the Panel that the
OPSO was still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina.736 As to the South White
Street Jail, the original focus of the Panel’s inquiry, which was closed since the publication of the
BJS Report, Sheriff Gusman reported that there were no substantiated inmate grievances in 2008
and 2009 alleging either staff-on-inmate or inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization.737 The
Sheriff said that according to the jail’s records there was a single inmate complaint alleging that
a civilian maintenance worker used a sexually derogatory remark in addressing a female
inmate.738 The OPP investigated the matter and found it to be unsubstantiated.739 Sheriff
Gusman stated that the South White Street Jail’s physical design deterred incidents of inmate
victimization because it was a large open dormitory with a deputy station and a surveillance
camera focused on the housing unit.740 Sheriff Gusman noted that the OPP submitted affidavits
to the Panel attesting that no persons working at the South White Street Jail, whether staff
members, chaplains, medical professionals, elected officials, or volunteers, ever received a
complaint from an inmate alleging sexual victimization.741
Sheriff Gusman stated that in 2009, female inmates were housed in other locations at OPP in
addition to the South White Street Jail, including the HOD and the Intake and Processing Center
(IPC).742 Sheriff Gusman faulted the BJS Report because it failed to recognize that the South
White Street Jail was just one component of the OPP, because it unfairly selected the South
White Street Jail as only one of two female jails surveyed, and because it wrongly compared the
information from the South White Street Jail to predominantly male jails:

732

Id.
Id.
734
Id.
735
Gusman Test. (Apr. 15, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_sept11/Gusman_Statement.pdf. Sheriff Gusman regretted that he was
unable to appear at the Panel’s hearing in person as he had previously accepted an invitation for the same date to
make a presentation at a conference of the International Corrections and Prisons Association in Singapore. Sheriff
Gusman’s testimony also appears in the Transcript of Record. See Tr., J. Ursin, 129:4-140:13.
736
Gusman Test. 1.
737
Id.
738
Id.
739
Id.
740
Id. 2.
741
Id.; see OPP Supp. Resp. (apps.).
742
Gusman Test. 2.
733

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The survey analysis seems to treat the South White Street building as a standalone jail while it should really be viewed as part of the entire Orleans Parish
Prison. While many female prisons were included in the study, our female
population was only one of two female-only jails surveyed. . . . OPP’s female
South White Street population was then compared to all the other malepredominant jails in the nation, resulting in an inappropriate comparison and
misleading conclusions. If the entire population of the Orleans Parish Prison had
been reported together, as done with most jails in the study, our results would
have been more in keeping with the national average.743
Sheriff Gusman claimed that the rate of reported sexual victimization at the South White Street
Jail was comparable to the rate at the other female-only jail that appeared in the BJS Report.744
Sheriff Gusman further criticized the methodology of the inmate survey because it offered a
reward for obtaining responses: “I want to emphasize that these were anonymous responses on
computers after being promised a bag of cookies by the [technicians] for completing the
questionnaire.”745 Based on the problems with the BJS survey, Sheriff Gusman concluded, “I
don’t think there is a high incidence of sexual victimization at the South White Street
building.”746 Sheriff Gusman stated, “[W]e have a strong, committed and dedicated staff as well
as policies, procedures and protocols with management systems and employee training that
focuses on sexual victimization.”747 He noted that OPP shows videos each day to inmates on
how to report and prevent sexual victimization.748
Sheriff Gusman also stated that the OPP has an electronic database, the Justice Management
System (JMS), which contains files of all inmate grievances, including formal and informal
statements not only from staff members but also from inmates, as well as their family members
and attorneys.749
Sheriff Gusman explained that the SOD, under the command of Major Michael Laughlin,
investigates all allegations of sexual assault at OPP.750 According to Sheriff Gusman, when OPP
receives notice of an incident, the detective team conducts a preliminary interview of the alleged
victim and then OPP tends to the alleged victim’s medical needs, which includes an examination
by the in-house medical staff, before transporting the alleged victim to University Hospital, less
than a mile away, for evaluation by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner.751 Sheriff Gusman stated
that in the wake of an incident, the SOD follows standard procedures in gathering evidence, and
the OPP’s medical staff intervenes only to ensure that the inmate has not sustained life743

Id. 2 (emphasis omitted).
Id.
745
Id. Dr. Allen Beck, the principal author of the BJS Report, testified that in some jails cookies were offered as an
incentive to encourage inmates to participate in the survey, but the incentive was only offered when jail
administrators agreed. Dr. Beck reported that the incentive had no impact on reported victimization, but it did
produce a higher response rate, resulting in greater precision in those facilities that used the incentive. Tr., A. Beck,
53:16-17.
746
Gusman Test. 2.
747
Id.
748
Id. 2-3.
749
Id.
750
Id. 3.
751
Id.
744

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threatening injuries before sending the inmate to the hospital.752 According to Sheriff Gusman,
on release of the inmate from the hospital, the OPP houses the inmate in OPP’s Acute
Psychiatric Unit to provide both protection and mental health services.753 Sheriff Gusman wrote
that a psychiatrist evaluates the needs of the victim, ensuring the provision of proper medical
care and the counseling services of a social worker, if warranted.754 He said that only when the
victim is psychiatrically stable would the victim leave the protective custody of the psychiatric
unit.755
Sheriff Gusman wrote that every warden of a housing unit “responds immediately to all reports
of sexual victimization and then contacts the SOD.”756 He assured the Panel, “Wardens also
review all grievances and incident reports filed in the JMS and respond to the inmate either in
person or in writing.”757
Acknowledging that the OPP can improve its operations, Sheriff Gusman said that the OPP plans
to use a new checklist in the inmate-classification process that will better identify potential
victims and predators, assign an assistant to the designated PREA coordinator to monitor
compliance with PREA standards, and build a new direct-supervision facility.758
iii.

Observations

Four factors influenced the Panel to shift the scope of its inquiry, which began with a focus on
the South White Street Jail, to the OPP as a whole. First, with the closing of the South White
Street Jail, the Panel could no longer observe the operations of the housing unit at the OPP that
exclusively served female inmates. Second, in light of the serious findings of the Special
Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice that the OPP
was in violation of CRIPA, the Panel recognized the need to broaden its inquiry beyond the
South White Street Jail.759 Third, JDI, an independent, prisoner-advocacy organization,
identified an individual who provided a compelling account of alleged sexual victimization while
incarcerated at the OPP during the time period of the BJS survey. Finally, the OPP itself urged
the Panel to think of the OPP as a whole rather than limiting its view to the South White Street
Jail.760
The Panel found the following testimony particularly useful in framing its understanding of the
OPP: (1) testimony from Ms. Elizabeth Cumming, a New Orleans civil rights attorney; (2)
testimony from A.A., a former inmate at OPP; (3) the OPP’s response to A.A.’s testimony; and
752

Id.
Id. 4.
754
Id.
755
Id.
756
Id.
757
Id.
758
Id. According to the OPP, construction started on a new facility on September 1, 2011, and the completion date
is March 2014. OPP Supp. Resp. 1.
759
Letter of Finding from Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department
of Justice, to Marlin N. Gusman, Sheriff, OPSO (Sept. 11, 2009), available at
http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/parish_findlet.pdf [hereinafter OPP Letter of Finding].
760
See, e.g., Gusman Test. 2.
753

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(4) testimony from Mr. Wesley Ware, Director of BreakOUT!, an advocacy group working with
juveniles formerly housed at the OPP who identify as being other than heterosexual.
(a)

Testimony of Civil Rights Attorney

Ms. Cumming stated that although she is currently in private practice, she began working with
the Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition (OPPRC) in 2006.761 She explained that the OPPRC
was “dedicated to reducing the massive size of the jail, improving jail conditions and practices to
make it a safer place for those who are held there and working there.”762 In her work with the
OPPRC, Ms. Cumming said that she gathered data on the OPP’s funding, the demographics of its
population, and the number of deaths that occurred in the jail.763 In 2008, Ms. Cumming stated
that she received an Equal Justice Works Fellowship.764 At first, she used the fellowship to
advocate for OPP inmates’ access to health care, especially for inmates with infectious diseases;
however, in light of the “horrific conditions at the jail,” Ms. Cumming expanded her advocacy
work to include access to medical care in general for all OPP inmates.765 Ms. Cumming testified
that in the course of her work, she received hundreds of letters from people at OPP who confided
in her that either they had been victims of sexual assault or they witnessed other inmates who
were victims of sexual assault.766 Ms. Cumming stated that she forwarded the reports on sexual
assaults to the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of
Justice.767
Ms. Cumming stated that the problems at the OPP may be attributable to four contributing
factors. First, the OPP receives funding in a way that encourages a large prison population, as
the OPP charges the City of New Orleans for each day an inmate is held in custody.768 Ms.
Cumming stated, “The per diem funding structure, and the enormous jail population that flows
from it, all create the foundation for the jail’s rampant sexual assault and violence rate.”769
According to Ms. Cumming, given the jail’s method of funding, there is an incentive for the OPP
to keep the inmate population rate high.770 Consequently, as Ms. Cumming noted, “New Orleans
can boast the highest per-capita jail detention rate in the country.”771
Second, Ms. Cumming wrote that despite the large inmate population, the OPP is significantly
understaffed.772 Quoting an NIC 2008 report on the OPP, Ms. Cumming stated, “‘staffing issues
were pervasive and most serious . . . actual staffing levels are so far below planned staffing levels
that required and critical important duties such as inmate welfare or security rounds cannot be

761

Cumming Test. 1.
Id.
763
Id.
764
Id.
765
Id.
766
Id.
767
Id.
768
Id. 2.
769
Id.
770
Id.
771
Id.
772
Id.
762

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completed in many cases.’”773 Ms. Cumming contended that nothing has changed since the
publication of the NIC’s 2008 report.774
Third, Ms. Cumming stated that the current classification system at OPP fails to identify likely
predators and likely victims of sexual assault.775 Ms. Cumming claimed that lack of space at
OPP, compounded by an inadequate classification system, often lead to housing decisions that
fail to protect vulnerable inmates:
The current classification system fails to take into account previous convictions,
previous histories of violence, age, residence, or body mass index. Instead, the
classification system is reliant almost entirely on bond amount. However, even
this rudimentary classification is often ignored because of space constraints in the
various facilities. Inmates are placed wherever space can be found, even if it is a
mattress on the floor of HOD.776
Fourth, Ms. Cumming stated that the barriers to reporting sexual assault contribute to the high
level of sexual victimization at OPP.777 She said, “OPP’s grievance system is essentially
nonexistent.”778 She contended that “[f]ew grievances are ever even acknowledged and even
fewer are responded to appropriately.”779 Ms. Cumming noted that when rapes do occur, “the
failures of the grievance system and the lack of staff supervision can mean that the rape will go
unreported for days, even when the survivor is looking for a way to report the rape or to be
moved to protective custody.”780
Ms. Cumming offered recommendations for improving OPP based on her analysis of the
contributing factors to sexual victimization at the jail.781 She recommended that the OPP reduce
its inmate population. She observed, “Preventing sexual assaults in a corrections setting is
significantly easier if fewer people are in jail.”782 She also recommended that the OPP
implement a classification system that takes into account relevant criteria to protect vulnerable
inmates. Finally, she recommended that the OPP adopt “appropriate staffing at levels
commensurate with the number of people held at OPP.”783
Ms. Cumming concluded her testimony by appealing to the Justice Department to intervene in a
corrections system that she regards as severely dysfunctional:
OPP is in such a state of crisis that we, in New Orleans, are forced to rely on the
Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to help us rebuild a fundamentally
773

Id. (citation omitted in original).
Id.
775
Id.
776
Id.
777
Id.
778
Id.
779
Id.
780
Id.
781
Id. 4.
782
Id.
783
Id.
774

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broken system. The level of sexual assaults and violence present in the jail are
symptoms of this system’s profound dysfunction.784
(b)

Statement of Former Inmate

JDI brought to the Panel’s attention the experience of a former inmate at OPP, A.A.,785 who at
the time of the hearing was serving a sentence in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Although he could not appear before the Panel in person, counsel for the Panel interviewed him
prior to the hearing, and A.A. submitted a statement about his experience at OPP that a
representative of JDI read into the record.786 Here follow excerpts from his statement, in which
he claims that he was brutally assaulted at the OPP multiple times, and despite his seeking
assistance through the jail’s grievance process and other avenues, he received no help:
When I was arrested in 2008 in New Orleans, I was on a 72-hour pass from [a
work center] in Mississippi. . . . Because I didn’t return to the Work Center within
72-hours, I was considered an escapee and arrested on October 31, 2008. I went
to the Central Lock-[U]p at the OPP’s House of Detention. I was thirty years old
at the time.
In January 2009, I was moved from Central Lock-[U]p to the general population
at the OPP’s House of Detention (HOD). Before assigning me to the general
population, the facility officials didn’t do a screening process. For instance, no
one asked me if I was gay. No one asked me if I had ever been sexually assaulted
before, either. The fact is that I had been—prior to my incarceration. Because I
was afraid for my safety, I told them I was gay and that I wanted to be put on a
tier for gay men. . . . When they said they didn’t have that tier anymore, I asked if
I could just stay in Central Lock-Up. They said no and that I had to go to general
population.
They put me in an overcrowded cell that should have been used for ten inmates
maximum, but had fifteen or sixteen in it when I got there. The other inmates
were all between eighteen and twenty-one years old. From the moment I arrived,
they were sizing me up. They asked me whether I was gay. I was scared to lie to
them so I said “yes.” I didn’t have a bed so I took a mat to lay on. I was so
depressed and exhausted that I put it on the floor next to the cell bars and took a
nap.
I woke up all of a sudden when some of my cellmates threw a chest of ice on me
that was kept in the cell for drinks. One of the inmates told me to give him a blow
job. This man was very scary, and I felt extremely afraid. I called for help, but
there were no guards around and no one responded to my screams. At first, I
784

Id.
To the extent that it is possible, the Panel protects the identities of individuals who allege to have been victims of
sexual abuse.
786
A.A. Test. (Apr. 15, 2011), available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_sept11/AA_Statement.pdf;
see also Tr., C. Totten, 70:16-82:14.
785

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refused to do what the inmate was telling me to do, but then he grabbed me by my
hair and kicked me while another inmate held a knife to my back. I decided that I
had better do what he wanted in order to save my life—I was already bleeding
from the knife.
Later that night, several of these inmates tied me down to the frame of a bed in the
cell with strips of a blue towel. I tried to fight them off at first, but a large inmate
choked me until I passed out. When I came to, I was choked again. There were
at least a dozen inmates around who saw what was happening. Three of the men
said they wanted me to give them oral sex, but they were afraid that I would bite
them, so they masturbated onto me instead. This nightmare only ended when an
inmate kicked me off the bed I was tied to because he wanted to go to sleep.
During my assault, there were no guards around. I quickly realized that the
guards at OPP did not do rounds of the tiers on a regular basis, so there was no
one to protect me. . . . And there were no cameras around, so the attacks weren’t
recorded or seen by guards in another part of the jail. . . .
The morning after that first night at OPP, I couldn’t go to the showers so I washed
up as best I could using the small sink in the cell. I tried to be friendly to the
other inmates just so I could try to keep from being attacked again. But, I was on
the lookout for an officer who I could ask for help. The whole day passed and I
never had a chance to talk to a guard or any other staff members.
As the next night came, I was really anxious. I had not been able to speak with
any jail officials, and I was so afraid that my cellmates would attack me again.
That night, three of the inmates—all large men—anally raped me. With no one to
help me, I laid down on the floor, bleeding from my injuries, and terrified about
what would happen next. My cellmates continued to orally and anally gang-rape
me . . . the whole time I was at OPP sometimes in the cell, but often in the
showers.
It happened so many times I lost count.787
A.A. stated that despite filing at least six grievances and trying to approach correctional officers,
he never received a response from OPP.788 He stated that on one occasion he tried to give a
grievance to a correctional officer, and the correctional officer allegedly responded, “‘a faggot
raped in prison—imagine that!’”789
A.A. also wrote that he had requested medical help from correctional officers two or three times
a week from February to April of 2009 because he was afraid of contracting a sexually
transmitted disease.790 He said that he must have filled out over twenty-five slips requesting
787

A.A. Test. 1-2.
Id. 2.
789
Id.
790
Id. 3.
788

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medical care, but he said that he never received a response.791 A.A. said that the only time he
saw a doctor at A.A. was by accident: when he happened to pass the medical unit on the way to
the “rec yard” he asked to see the doctor on duty.792 A.A. reported that after waiting for two
hours, the doctor examined him and did blood work to see whether he had Hepatitis C or HIV,
but the medical staff did not administer a rape kit.793 A.A. stated that “[t]he doctor told me that I
had herpes, which he thinks I got from the rapes.”794 A.A. also reported that despite telling the
doctor about the sexual assaults, the doctor took no action: “The doctor told me that he couldn’t
do anything about the rapes and beatings, because that was a security issue, not a medical
one.”795
A.A. claimed that while at OPP there were also no available support services to help him as a
victim of sexual assault: “There was no one I could talk with to help me with how I was feeling
emotionally. I don’t think OPP had a chaplain or counselor, and there were no religious services
or any other type of support that I could find.”796 He said, “I would say without a doubt that the
whole time I was at OPP, I had to deal with all this stuff on my own. Not one person there tried
to help me in any way.”797
A.A. wrote that he was not the only one at OPP who was a victim of sexual assault.798 During
his tenure at OPP, he claimed to have witnessed between five and seven other male inmates who
were sexually assaulted; one transgender woman was so severely beaten that she was sent to the
hospital.799
Appealing to the Panel, A.A. wrote, “I think that what I went through and what I saw happening
to some of the other people at OPP could have been prevented if OPP had done something to
keep inmates like me—guys who are gay or who are going to be targeted by other inmates—
safe.”800
(c)

OPP’s Response to the Former Inmate’s
Testimony

Following up on the testimony from A.A., which the Panel received prior to the hearing, the
Panel requested that OPP produce any documentation that might be related to A.A.’s
confinement at OPP, including whether he filed any grievances and whether the OPP responded
to the grievances.801

791

Id.
Id.
793
Id.
794
Id.
795
Id.
796
Id.
797
Id.
798
Id.
799
Id. 3-4.
800
Id. 4.
801
App. A (Letter from Michael L. Alston, Attorney Advisor, Panel, to Marlin N. Gusman, Sheriff, OPSO 3 (Aug.
3, 2011)) [hereinafter Supp. Data Request].
792

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Based on the documentation that the OPP submitted to the Panel regarding the history of A.A.’s
grievances while he was in custody, the Panel closely questioned Major Michael Laughlin,
Commander of SOD, about OPP’s response to A.A.’s alleged sexual assaults. Major Laughlin
testified that at the Panel’s request he undertook a review of A.A.’s grievance record at OPP and
found that of the ten grievances that A.A. filed during his tenure at OPP, six went unanswered.802
Among the unanswered grievances, was the first one that A.A. filed on February 3, 2009, which
claimed that he was sexually assaulted.803 According to the record of A.A.’s grievances in the
JMS that the OPP submitted to the Panel,804 A.A.’s February 3, 2009, grievance contained the
following question and answer: “What is your complaint? I’m a homosexual and have been
forced to have sex 3 times, and assaulted.”805 The standard electronic grievance form also asked
A.A. whether the grievance was an emergency.806 A.A.’s response was “yes” because “my life’s
in danger and I’m scared.”807
Major Laughlin explained what happened to A.A.’s first grievance: the staff picked up A.A.’s
complaint on February 3, 2009, and entered it into the OPP’s computer system, which
immediately sent the grievance to the electronic inbox of the warden of HOD, where it remained
unanswered.808
Speaking for the OPP, Colonel Jerry Ursin, Commander, IPC, admitted that in regard to A.A.’s
first grievance, “we dropped the ball on that case as an organization.”809
The OPP does not appear to have done much better in handling the other grievances that A.A.
filed. According to the record that OPP provided the Panel, on February 10, 2009, A.A. filed a
second grievance in which he complained that a correctional officer removed clippers from the
tier before A.A. had the chance to finish cutting his hair.810 In the grievance, A.A. stated that the
officer “‘called me a faggot and cracker and told me he would beat my ass. He works up here
every day and I fear for my life.’”811 Major Laughlin testified that after the second grievance,
OPP transferred A.A. to another floor at the HOD, but there was no evidence that the decision to
transfer him was in response to the grievance.812 A.A. also filed grievances on March 3, 2009
(requesting access to clippers), and March 4, 2009 (claiming assault).813 In the March 4, 2009,
grievance, A.A. complained, “‘I got jumped by four other inmates and I’m scared to be on this
side.’”814 The warden of the HOD did respond to this grievance by transferring A.A. to a
different wing,815 but there was no documentation indicating that the warden investigated A.A.’s
802

Tr., M. Laughlin, 158:8.
Id. 155:1-3.
804
OPP Supp. Resp. (A.A.’s grievances) [hereinafter exh. B]; see Tr., G. Christensen, 153:21 (referring to exh. B).
805
Exh. B 10.
806
Id. 11.
807
Id.; see also Tr., G. Christensen, 160:14-15.
808
Id., M. Laughlin, 155:1-3, 6-12, 15-18, 156:1-3, 17.
809
Id., J. Ursin, 180:7; see also id. 149:7-8.
810
Id., M. Laughlin, 159:3, 159:20-160:1.
811
Id. 160:1-3 (citing grievance form); see also exh. B 14.
812
Tr., M. Laughlin, 161:5-8, 17-20.
813
Id. 162:1-2, 10-12, 163:6-10.
814
Id. 163:7-8 (quoting grievance form); see also exh. B 22.
815
Tr., M. Laughlin, 164:3-4, 7-8.
803

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claim that he was assaulted by four other inmates.816 On March 10, 2009, A.A. filed another
grievance in which he stated, “‘I am having problems with the guys here, I don’t feel safe. The
guys are having a problem with me being a homosexual. I’m scared to live over here.’”817
Major Laughlin testified that by the time A.A. filed the March 10, 2009, complaint, OPP already
moved him, but the OPP did not undertake any investigation into A.A.’s allegation of sexual
harassment.818 Given that the March 10, 2009, grievance could be a criminal offense, the Panel
asked why the warden would not have documented an investigation.819 Colonel Ursin admitted,
“We have no paper trail that he documented it.”820 Again, Colonel Ursin said, “[W]e dropped
the ball on this.”821
(d)

Testimony of Youth Advocate

Mr. Wesley Ware, the director of BreakOUT!, provided testimony to the Panel on the treatment
of young people who have served time at OPP who identify as being other than heterosexual.822
Mr. Ware explained that “BreakOUT! is a project of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana
(JJPL) that focuses on working with LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or
questioning] young people to help reform the criminal justice system in New Orleans.”823 Prior
to founding BreakOUT! in 2011, Mr. Ware, in his capacity as an advocate and investigator for
the JJPL, visited youth in state and local facilities throughout Louisiana, focusing from 2007 to
2010 on the needs of LGBTQ young people.824
Mr. Ware stated that in the summer of 2011, youth members of BreakOUT!, most of whom are
formerly incarcerated African American transgender women aged sixteen to twenty-four,
conducted an informal, person-to-person survey of sixteen peers.825 All but one of the surveyed
young people were African Americans; all were homeless or “marginally housed;” and most had
previously engaged in sex work.826 Mr. Ware reported that of the 90% who had been detained,
80% had experienced some form of sexual victimization at the OPP.827 Mr. Ware stated that
“[t]he majority of the violence was considered ‘inmate versus inmate’ in areas with little staff or
guard supervision.”828

816

Id. 164:12, 16-20.
Id., G. Christensen, 165:3-6 (quoting grievance form); see also exh. B 26.
818
Id., M. Laughlin, 165:10-11, 15.
819
Id., G. Christensen, 167:11-13, 15-16.
820
Id., J. Ursin, 167:17-18.
821
Id. 168:3-4.
822
Ware Test. (Apr. 15, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_sept11/Ware_Statement.pdf. Mr. Ware’s testimony also appears in the
Transcript of Record. See Tr., W. Ware, 95:4-111:4.
823
Id. 1.
824
Id. 1, 2.
825
Id. 2.
826
Id.
827
Id.
828
Id.
817

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Citing a 2009 public letter from the American Civil Liberties Union to Sheriff Gusman, Mr.
Ware noted that it is well known to the members of the transgender community in New Orleans
that if they are detained at OPP, they should post bond as soon as possible or risk being raped.829
Mr. Ware cited a number of examples of gay men and transgender women who experienced
sexual victimization at the OPP.830 He read into the record a short statement from one young
man, “Robert,” a “twenty-two year old gender-nonconforming, gay white male” who claimed to
have experienced sexual victimization during his custody at OPP from December 2010 to
February 2011.831 Robert’s statement is similar in many ways to A.A.’s: he claimed that during
the classification process the OPP did ask him if he had any concerns for his safety; that the OPP
housed him in HOD; that in the night, a larger inmate in the same housing unit overpowered him
and raped him; that he screamed for help but no correctional officer responded; and that despite
sustaining serious injuries, no correctional officer checked on him throughout the night.832
On the morning after his alleged attack, Robert stated that he reported the assault to a
correctional officer, and then two investigators from SOD interviewed him.833 Robert stated,
“During the interview, one of the SOD investigators accused me of lying and called me a
‘faggot.’ He accused me of wanting to have anal sex because I was a ‘faggot.’”834 Robert said
that after the interview, OPP placed him in a holding cell for two to three hours and then took
him to the hospital where a rape kit was completed.835 Robert questioned whether the rape kit
was ever given to the Orleans Police Department.836 Robert said that when he was released from
the hospital, the OPP placed him back in the same cell at HOD, next to the inmate who allegedly
raped him.837
Consistent with A.A.’s account, Robert stated that the OPP did not provide any follow-up
medical or psychological support, nor did the OPP respond to any of his written grievances:
The OPP never provided me with any additional medical or psychological
treatment while I was in custody.

829

Id. 2-3 & n.1 (citing ACLU Seeks to End Rapes in New Orleans Parish Prison (Apr. 4, 2009), available at
https://laaclu.org/newsArchive.php?id=330#n330; Letter from Marjorie R. Esman, Executive Director, ACLU of
Louisiana, to Marlin N. Gusman, Sheriff, OPSO (Apr. 28, 2009), available at
https://www.laaclu.org/PDF_documents/Letter_Gusman_042809.pdf).
830
Ware Test. 3. The Panel met informally with youth members of BreakOUT! on August 22, 2011, in New
Orleans, Louisiana, and listened to first-hand accounts from young transgender women and gay men who claimed to
have been mistreated at the OPP. They stated that their filed grievances at the OPP received no responses. They
said that before Hurricane Katrina there was a separate, “protective custody” unit for LGBTQ inmates, which is now
no longer an option. They stated that there is only one social worker who serves all of the OPP; they claimed that
they did not have access to counselors or chaplains.
831
Id.
832
Id. 3-4.
833
Id. 4.
834
Id.
835
Id.
836
Id. 4-5.
837
Id. 5.

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I filed a number of written grievances while I was at OPP, including an
emergency grievance complaining about the rape as well as one complaining
about being physically abuse[d] by an OPP guard. I never received a response to
my grievances.838
Mr. Ware offered recommendations for improving the OPP based on consultations that
BreakOUT! conducted with the local LGBTQ community, youth members of BreakOUT!, and
criminal justice reform advocates in New Orleans.839 Echoing three of Ms. Cumming’s
recommendations, Mr. Ware advised the OPP (1) to revamp its inmate-classification system to
protect vulnerable inmates, noting in particular the needs of transgender inmates; (2) to
strengthen its grievance and investigation procedures to respond more effectively to complaints
of sexual victimization; and (3) to increase the staff-to-inmate ratio at the jail by decoupling
funding of the jail from the size of the inmate population.840
In addition, Mr. Ware suggested that staff at every level of the OPP should receive training on
LGBTQ issues in consultation with national experts and local, formerly incarcerated LGBTQ
individuals.841 Mr. Ware stated that OPP “should ensure proper medical care and follow-up for
those in need of medical attention,” including victims of sexual assault, people with pre-existing
conditions, and people living with HIV or AIDS.842 Mr. Ware said that OPP “should increase its
accountability mechanisms to the community.”843 He suggested that the OPP convene regular
meetings to listen to the concerns of community members, which may include attorneys, family
members of inmates, and LGBTQ young people.844
Along with Ms. Cumming, Mr. Ware appealed to the Panel as a part of the U.S. Department of
Justice, to intervene with the OPP: “It is apparent that in addition to the recommendations
already stated, we need federal oversight of our jail to realize full reform.”845
iv.

Facility-Specific Recommendations

Based on the investigative record and the Panel’s onsite visit to the jail,846 the Panel is deeply
disturbed by the apparent culture of violence at the OPP.847 848 During the tour of the OPP,
838

Id.
Id. 5-6.
840
Id.
841
Id. 7.
842
Id.
843
Id.
844
Id.
845
Id. 8.
846
Although the Panel compliments the OPP in undertaking the construction of a new, direct-supervision facility,
the Panel found that many of the deplorable conditions of the jail have not changed significantly since the issuance
of the OPP Letter of Finding. See OPP Letter of Finding 21-22.
847
On September 22, 2011, the Panel sent a letter of concern to Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez, to
bring to his attention the OPP’s admission that it failed to respond to inmate grievances alleging sexual assault.
Letter from Dr. Reginald A. Wilkinson, Chairperson, Panel, to Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General, Civil
Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice (Sept. 22, 2011) (on file with the Panel). In light of the absence of a
negotiated resolution agreement between the OPP and the Justice Department, despite the issuance of the OPP Letter
of Finding in September of 2009, the Panel wrote, “Two years is too long for the OPP to still operate as it does
839

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inmates approached the Panel privately, stating that their grievances went unanswered. These
appeals are a particular cause for concern, given that the OPP admitted its failure in responding
to A.A.’s grievances, that the Panel heard similar complaints from BreakOUT! youth members,
and that the Panel heard testimony from both Ms. Cumming and Mr. Ware about the OPP’s
dysfunctional grievance and investigation system.849 The Panel urges the OPP, consistent with
the OPP Letter of Finding, to conduct a thorough review of its grievance process, making sure
that all inmates receive a fair, timely response to every grievance, and that any investigation, no
matter how minor, has sufficient documentation that would allow an outside organization to
review the investigative process and understand the outcome.
In its Letter of Finding, the Civil Rights Division concluded, “Staffing levels at OPP are
inadequate to protect inmates from harm.”850 As a remedial measure, the Civil Rights Division
recommended that the OPP should implement, “in accordance with generally accepted
professional standards of correctional practice,”851 a program for safety and supervision to
“[e]sure that correctional officer staffing and supervision levels are appropriate to adequately
supervise inmates.”852 Noting that the testimony from Ms. Cumming and Mr. Ware support this
assessment, the Panel concurs with the Civil Rights Division and urges the OPP to review its
current staffing plan.
The Panel, consistent with the recommendations of Ms. Cumming, Mr. Ware, and the Civil
Rights Division,853 urges the OPP to implement an objective classification system that protects
vulnerable inmates from sexual assault.854 At the hearing, Colonel Ursin agreed that the OPP
needed to put into place an objective classification system that would better serve vulnerable
inmates.855 The Panel encourages the OPP to improve the classification system as soon as
possible.

without court enforceable federal oversight.” Id. 2. On December 20, 2011, the chief of the Special Litigation
Section of the Civil Rights Division responded. Letter from Jonathan M. Smith, Chief, Special Litigation Section,
Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, to Dr. Reginald A. Wilkinson, Chairperson, Panel (Dec. 20,
2011) (on file with the Panel). Chief Smith wrote, “Attorneys from the Section are actively engaged with OPP
leadership in settlement discussions. We continue to be hopeful that the parties will agree upon a court-enforceable
settlement.” Id. 1.
848
Just prior to the release of this Report, the Panel read with alarm a letter that the Southern Poverty Law Center
(SPLC) of New Orleans sent to the OPP to seek protection for a transgender woman who was allegedly raped
multiple times in February and March of 2012 while in OPP’s custody. Letter from Katie Schwartzmann, Managing
Attorney, SPLC, to Marlin N. Gusman, Sheriff, OPSO (Mar. 27, 2012), available at
http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/case/GusmanLetter03272012.pdf.
849
The Panel acknowledges that it did review some investigations from SOD into allegations of sexual victimization
that appeared to be thorough. For example, the Panel found that the SOD’s investigation convincingly debunked the
sexual assault claims of one of two named former inmates that the Panel identified in its letter to Sheriff Gusman on
August 3, 2011. See Supp. Data Request 3.
850
OPP Letter of Finding 13.
851
Id. 23.
852
Id. 25.
853
Id. 11-12. “The classification system at OPP contributes to its deficiencies in safety and security. Generally
accepted correctional practices for classification systems utilize a variety of objective, behavior-based factors to
determine the appropriate level of custody.” Id. 11.
854
See id. 26.
855
Tr., J. Ursin, 186:17-20, 187:2; see also Gusman Test. 4.

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In light of the Panel’s previous discussion on the importance of language in creating a
correctional culture that has zero tolerance for sexual victimization,856 the Panel recommends
that the OPP provide training to its staff on treating LGBTQ people with proper respect.857 The
Panel supports Mr. Ware’s recommendation for the OPP to work with the local LGBTQ
community in New Orleans as part of this effort.
Although the OPP has protocols for providing victim services to inmates who may need them,
the personal accounts from former inmates at OPP who claimed to be victims of sexual assault
raise serious questions as to how accessible and effective the services actually are. The Panel
strongly recommends that the OPP review the quality of the services it provides to victims of
sexual assault, which should include collaboration with victim-service providers in the
community.858
3.

Common Themes

Cognizant of the inherent limitations in drawing generalizations from the data that the Panel has
gathered on the five jails that appeared at the September 2011 hearings, the Panel has
nonetheless identified the following recurrent themes: (1) the importance of jail design in
deterring inmate sexual victimization, (2) the value of outside oversight, (3) the reluctance of
prosecutors to pursue cases involving inmate sexual assault, (4) the challenges that jails
encounter in creating safe environments with increasingly limited resources, and (5) the
importance of employing well-trained, professional correctional staff.
a.

Acknowledging the Importance of Facility Design

Among the jails that the Panel invited to the September hearing there was a notable correlation
between incidence of sexual victimization and facility design. The two jails with low sexual
victimization, Hinds County and the Moss Center, were both direct-supervision facilities,
whereas two of the three jails with reported high sexual victimization, Clallam County and
PTDC, were not. The single outlier was the South White Street Jail, which the OPP
characterized as a direct-supervision facility, but as already noted, the facility closed before the
Panel could observe its operation. For many local jurisdictions throughout the country, the Panel
knows well that the construction of new, direct-supervision jails is a cost-prohibitive option to
prevent the sexual victimization of inmates. Nonetheless, in communities where jail construction
or remodeling is on the agenda, community leaders and jail administrators should consider the
security benefits of a direct-supervision design.
b.

Appreciating the Value of Outside Oversight

Two of the three high-incidence jails that the Panel selected to appear at the September hearings,
the PTDC and the OPP, were also recently the subject of Justice Department investigations,
which resulted in specific recommendations for improving facility management. The Panel
contends that it is not a matter of coincidence that the BJS Report identified these facilities as
856

See supra Part II.A.3.c.
See supra Part II.A.3.d.
858
See supra Part II.A.3.f.
857

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problematic, a result that was completely independent of the Civil Rights Division’s
investigations and findings. Although the Justice Department has a key role in holding
correctional institutions accountable, Sheriff Glanz of TCSO and Director Ryan of MDCR
reminded the Panel of the benefits that come from working with outside organizations in helping
jails improve their operations. Echoing their remarks, Director Arthur Wallenstein of the
Montgomery County, Maryland, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, a jail
administrator with significant experience in implementing PREA, also noted the importance of
correctional institutions being open to outside oversight.859 Sheriff Glanz, Director Ryan, and
Director Wallenstein commented on the important role that accreditation organizations have in
holding jails to professional standards. Jail administrators should consider what may prevent
them from welcoming the opportunity of a neutral, outside organization’s review of their
operations.
c.

Noting the Reluctance to Prosecute Sexual
Victimization Cases Involving Inmates

The Panel heard the frustrated testimony of more than one jail administrator who complained
that prosecutors are often reluctant to take criminal cases that involve sexual victimization of
inmates. The Panel heard speculation that the reluctance may be attributable to a number of
factors, including societal stereotypes about inmates, female staff members, and alternative
sexual practices.
d.

Recognizing the Resource Challenges that Jails Face

The Panel heard from jail administrators about the challenges that they face under current
economic conditions to maintain safe correctional institutions. For smaller jails, notably in rural
counties, it may be useful to identify off-the-shelf resources that may assist them in complying
with the goals of PREA. The Justice Department and the PREA Resource Center may be able to
link jails with relevant materials that are readily available, such as online staff training on PREA
or an objective inmate-classification system.
e.

Employing Well-Trained, Professional Staff

The Panel heard testimony from sheriffs, jail administrators, and jail officials espousing the
importance of employing well-trained, professional security staff. Indeed, to prevent or at least
limit the frequency of sexual assault, committed correctional professionals must work within a
jail facility in which organizational culture does not permit language that gives the impression
that any form of sexual impropriety is acceptable. Proper training and staff awareness of
evidence-based policies that are designed to prevent and address sexual impropriety, as well as
measures or practices that monitor the effectiveness of and adherence to prescribed processes,
are essential to the realization of a correctional environment that is free of sexual victimization.

859

Tr., A. Wallenstein, 19:8-22; see also Wallenstein Test. 11 (Apr. 15, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_sept11/testimony_wallenstein.pdf.

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4.

Topics for Further Study

The Panel encourages academics and practitioners to conduct additional research on the
following topics:
a.

What are the Specific Challenges of Big-City and Rural
Jails in Preventing Inmate Sexual Victimization?

The Panel is aware that the challenges that big-city jails face, such as the MDCR and the OPP,
are significantly different from jails with much smaller inmate populations, staffing, and
financial resources. The Panel would like to encourage research that would provide practical
tools not only to large jails but also to small, rural jails in implementing the goals of PREA.
b.

What are the Best Practices in Classifying and Housing
LGBTQ Inmates?

The Panel is aware of the directive in the proposed national standards that in considering housing
and programming decisions for LGBTQ inmates, correctional institutions should “make
individualized determinations about how to ensure the safety of each inmate.”860 The Panel
heard testimony and received studies that both supported and criticized the practice of creating
special units for LGBTQ inmates.861 The Panel encourages further evidence-based research on
correctional institutions’ screening and housing practices that prevent the sexual victimization of
gay and transgender women inmates.862
c.

What Would Encourage the Prosecution of Crimes
Involving Inmate Sexual Victimization?

The Panel encourages the Justice Department to fund research that would identify the factors that
discourage local and federal prosecutors from pursuing criminal charges against either staff
members or inmates when the victim of a sexual assault is an inmate. The research might
include convening a task force composed of prosecutors, prison administrators, and inmate
advocacy groups to address this issue.863
d.

What are the Policies and Practices that Contribute to a
Jail Culture that Has Zero Tolerance for Sexual
Victimization?

Through its public hearings and the issuance of this Report, the Panel has attempted to highlight
many of the issues that jails encounter in preventing the sexual victimization of inmates. When
860

Nat’l Standards, 76 Fed. Reg. at 6281 (§ 115.42(b)).
Robinson Test. (Sept. 16, 2011), available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/pdfs_sept11/testimony_robinson.pdf; Russell K. Robinson, Masculinity as
Prison: Sexual Identity, Race, and Incarceration, 99 CAL. L. REV. 1309 (2011); see also Susan Dolovich, Strategic
Segregation in the Modern Prison, 48 AM. CRIM. L. REV. 1 (2011).
862
See NIC, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Offenders, http://nicic.gov/LGBTI (last visited Mar.
1, 2012).
863
See Tr., T. Ryan, 322:1-15.
861

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it comes to the sexual abuse of inmates, almost all jail administrators affirm that their facilities
have a zero-tolerance policy.864 More important than stating a policy is knowing what actually
works. Mindful of the proposed national standards, the Panel encourages evidenced-based
research on the policies and practices that contribute to jail cultures that keep inmates safe from
sexual victimization.
e.

What are the Best Practices for Monitoring Compliance
with a Jail’s Zero-Tolerance Policy for Sexual
Victimization?

The Panel has often found that the written policies on preventing sexual victimization in highand low-incidence correctional facilities may not differ significantly. One of the distinguishing
characteristics, however, between high- and low-incidence facilities is that the low-incidence
facilities are often able to evaluate whether their practice complies with their stated policy. To
help jails with the process of self-evaluation when it comes to preventing and responding to the
sexual abuse of inmates, the Panel encourages the development of effective tools, based on best
practices, that jails can readily access that will assist them to identify their shortcomings and then
take appropriate corrective actions.
f.

What are the Best Practices for Reliably Reporting
Sexual Abuse in Jails?

In reviewing correctional facilities’ investigative files, the Panel has found that some facilities
still have significant problems when it comes to receiving, answering, and recording inmate
complaints alleging sexual victimization; responding appropriately to a reported incident of
sexual assault; conducting a well-documented investigation; taking warranted remedial actions;
and providing proper medical and emotional support to victims. The Panel encourages the
development of technical assistance materials for jails that would assist them in reliably tracking
inmate complaints alleging sexual victimization and responding to them based on best practices
from the field. In designing the materials, researchers should consider the needs of all jails,
whether large or small, urban or rural.
III.

Conclusion

The Panel takes the issues of sexual misconduct and sexual safety in correctional environments
seriously. We recognize that when a person is sexually abused, that person becomes the victim
of a violent crime. Our mission, especially in preparing for and during the hearings, is to help
corrections practitioners and allied professionals achieve the spirit of PREA. While we believe
that jails, juvenile institutions, and prisons are making significant advancements to abate sexual
victimization, much more can be done to prevent sexual assaults and to punish sexual predators.
Through our hearings we have come to know and consequently document that many correctional
jurisdictions deserve praise for their hard work. Creating a corrections culture that seeks to
eliminate sexual abuse takes considerable energy on the part of many in leadership. We
864

See, e.g., id., J. Ursin, 130:6-9; id., W. Benedict, 235:15-19; id., T. Ryan, 284:19-285:4.

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congratulate them on their efforts and thank them for their contributions to the continued
professionalization of the corrections field.
We realize that all correctional agencies want to reduce institutional assaults. Unfortunately, the
attention given to eliminating sexual abuse is not the same throughout the nation. We know that
sexual assaults can be reduced by changing attitudes toward potentially vulnerable populations,
including female, LGBTQ, and physically frail inmates; paying close attention to institutional
design and surveillance; providing offender education and staff training; improving operational
policies and post orders; and monitoring adherence to established policies. Moreover, a reliable
inmate-classification system; improved efforts on the part of first responders, investigators, and
prosecutors; and timely victim assistance and healthcare services will help an agency reduce, if
not eliminate, inmate sexual victimization.
With the goal of ending sexual violence in prisons and jails, we will continue to gather
information that we hope will be helpful to correctional policymakers, administrators, line staff,
and allied professionals.865 Our mission is nothing less than to assist correctional institutions to
become safer and more humane.

865

In 2013, the BJS anticipates issuing the next surveys of sexual victimization in prisons, jails, and juvenile
facilities based on inmate interviews. The Panel will schedule hearings related to the surveys shortly after their
publication.

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