Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women

NY court reinstates prison sex abuse suit
AUGUST 22, 2011
Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. — A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit by female inmates alleging civil rights violations for rape and improper touching by guards in New York's prisons.

The Second Circuit appeals panel sent the case back to U.S. District Court in Manhattan to try to determine if the case should proceed as a class-action suit on behalf of some 2,200 current prisoners, as well as future female inmates, and whether better protective measures should be required.

The Second Circuit panel concluded U.S. District Judge Kevin Duffy was wrong to dismiss the claims of women who have already been released from prison. The panel said Duffy properly dismissed claims of those who had not exhausted internal grievance procedures.

The three-judge panel cited at least three ex-inmates who still have status to sue and challenge prison policy on behalf of the group. Judge Ralph Winter noted in the ruling that women in Department of Correctional Services custody are deemed incapable of consenting to sex under New York law. He wrote that the New York prison system's sex crimes unit receives more than 200 complaints of misconduct every year.

Spokeswoman Linda Foglia said the Department of Correctional Services doesn't comment on pending litigation.

The Legal Aid Society's Dori Lewis, lead attorney in the suit originally filed in 2003, said the other 10 women could still be witnesses about what happened to them.

"They certainly have relevant evidence," Lewis said. "We'll probably need to show this is a current and ongoing problem. Unfortunately this remains one."

Lewis said a guard at the Taconic Correctional Facility in Westchester County is charged again with raping an inmate, after he was acquitted of similar charges in 2003 but continued supervising female prisoners. One of the problems with the existing internal grievance procedure is that cases get referred to the inspector general, where physical proof is required, which she called an unrealistically high threshold.

"It's the same way as in the outside world. People are very hesitant to come forward. Sexual abuse is shameful. It's humiliating," Lewis said. "People are very fearful of retaliation and don't think they'll be believed."

Frederick Brenyah, who pleaded not guilty to the recent rape charge, has been suspended from his prison job since his arrest last September, Foglia said. Corrections officials tried to fire him after his 2003 acquittal but an arbitrator returned him to work pursuant to his union contract, she said.

In April, Corrections Commissioner Brian Fischer testified the department has adopted a series of directives and orientation materials for prisoners and notices to staff and inmates emphasizing zero tolerance sexual abuse. He noted the department's inspector general has one of the few prison sex crimes units in the nation investigating allegations of misconduct by staff, as well as abuse by inmates on one another.

"The reality, however, is that while we do not willingly tolerate sexual abuse of our offenders, we may not be able to ever fully eradicate the occurrence," he said. "Our approach is to take proactive preventive measures, immediately respond to all allegations and seek criminal penalties where appropriate believing that such efforts have a deterrent effect within the system."
—Copyright 2011 Associated Press