Female Inmates Raped by Staff
As part of a two year investigation into prison work programs, the Associated Press reports that after speaking to current and former prisoners and scouring thousands of pages of court filings, police reports, and other documents, they have identified a pattern in which prison work assignments are used to lure female inmates into areas where they can be victimized.
In all 50 states, the AP uncovered cases where prison staff allegedly used inmate work assignments to lure female prisoners to isolated areas out of the view of security cameras, where prisoners reported being attacked while working not only inside correctional facilities but also in work-release programs at private businesses like restaurants and hotels.
Brenda Smith, a professor of law and an expert on prison rape, told the AP that, “They’re viewed as sort of the lowest of the low. They’re not really women — they’re just other things.”
A Senate investigation found that female prisoners were sexually abused by staff members in at least two-thirds of all women’s federal prisons over the past decade. Even in cases that were confirmed through internal investigations, less than 6% were prosecuted, according to Department of Justice figures.
When lawmakers held a hearing to discuss how to better safeguard inmates, Bonnie Hernandez testified that she was repeatedly and violently raped by officer Lenton Hatten in a federal prison in Florida after her work detail cleaning the prison recreation area.
“It got to the point where I feared for my life and had no choice but to report him, even though I was terrified to do so,” she said.
She said that she was retaliated against for making a report by being sent to isolation, then transferred to a facility with restrictions like no access to video calls with her daughters.
Hatten faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, but despite DNA evidence, was sentenced to only three months after he pled guilty to sexual abuse of a ward.
“What you allow is what will continue,” Sen. John Kennedy from Louisiana said after her testimony. “Three months for rape is absurd… That’s not justice.”
