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by Sharelle Burt
December 7, 2023
New York’s Adult Survivors Act is uncovering decades of looked-over sexual abuse faced by inmates at the infamous Rikers Island prison, NBC News reports.
Out of over 2,500 lawsuits filed under the law, about 20% hold allegations of sexual violence against current or past prisoners at the facility. The act allowed survivors of sexual assault to sue for one year – regardless of how long the alleged abuse occurred – leading to 479 lawsuits against the city over the questioned abuse at Rikers. Legal experts applaud the law for uncovering cases and finally allowing victims to achieve justice.
Attorney Anna Kull has filed hundreds of civil cases related to an assault that happened behind bars under the act. She says the rate of inmate-staff cases is high.
“How do I have over 200 women who were sexually abused at Rikers? This is a systemic failure,” Kull said. “It requires comprehensive reform, and you’re never going to see comprehensive reform without accountability.”
While she finds the number of lawsuits coming from Rikers staggering, Kull isn’t surprised as Rikers has a reputation dating back decades of being “one of the most dangerous prisons in the United States.”
New York’s Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Adult Survivors Act in May 2022 in an attempt to allow survivors over 18 at the time of the alleged abuse to sue their abusers. As the act expired on Nov. 24, 2023, several lawsuits have been filed against some of Hollywood’s and New York’s elite, including actor Jamie Foxx and NYC mayor Eric Adams. Singer/model Cassie dropped a bombshell lawsuit against Bad Boy Records founder Sean “Diddy” Combs, accusing him of years of sexual violence against her.
Both male and female inmates have filed lawsuits against the prison. One of Kull’s clients accused a male correction officer at Rikers’ only women’s facility, the Rose M. Singer Center, of taking her to a bathroom when she was 19 in 2002, groping her and forcing her to perform oral sex on him. When she tried to fight him off, he accused her of assaulting an officer and placed her in solitary confinement for almost a year. The client, named Shanaye to protect her privacy, is now 40 years old.
The lawsuit claims the officer taunted Shanaye for weeks, telling her no one would believe her if she told.
“It’s a very isolating feeling. I really didn’t even know who I could tell, who I could trust,” she said. “You can’t tell the therapist in the prison because you feel like she works for the prison. They look at you like you’re an inmate. You have no word. You have no honor.”
Genaro Campos case accuses a female correction officer of forcing him to perform sex acts on her over a four-month period between 1992 and 1993. When Campos would refuse, he said his abuser retaliated by having him labeled as a “centrally monitored case,” where he would be watched at close proximity and suffered harsh conditions, including waist chains, shackles and isolation.
Hopefully, things will turn around for the troubled prison system as a new leader is announced. According to The City, Lynelle Maginley-Liddie will be named Correction Commissioner after former leader Louis Molina transitioned to a new position.
With years of experience, Maginley-Liddie hopes that as a woman of color, more will be inspired to take on more leadership roles. “My hope is that, when others see me in my role, they learn from my journey to get here,” she said. “I want them to envision themselves in leadership roles and know that they can attain any position of power within the agency to effect real change.”
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