On February 25, 2016, six women prisoners in the custody of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) filed this class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs, anonymous by request, sued various DOCCS officials in their official capacity, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming violations of their Eighth Amendment rights.

The plaintiffs were represented by The Legal Aid Society Prisoners' Rights Project and by private counsel.

The plaintiffs alleged a widespread pattern and practice of sexual abuse, assault and harassment by correctional staff in New York State women's prisons. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants, despite knowing about the persistent sexual abuse, failed to take any reasonable steps to address the situation. In their complaint, the plaintiffs alleged sexual intercourse, oral sexual acts, sexual touching, voyeurism, invasion of personal privacy and demeaning sexual comments by correctional officers. Each of the six plaintiffs in the complaint described corrections officers' repeated and extensive sexual misconduct. The complaint also detailed the retaliation and harassment of plaintiffs after they, at various times, reported the officers' misconduct. The plaintiffs alleged that officials in charge of DOCCS were aware of the issue of sexual misconduct in the state's women's prisons but failed to implement and enforce effective policies that would combat the problem.

On September 29, 2016, plaintiffs' lawyers informed the court that the parties were actively engaged in negotiations and might ask for a two-year stay while DOCCS implements its new policies. The plaintiffs agreed to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit if the implementation proved to be successful.

On December 23, 2016, individual plaintiff Jane Jones 5 voluntarily dismissed her claims. The other plaintiffs remain in the case, which is ongoing.

Greg Margolis - 02/10/2017


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