Year

State

Jurisdiction Details

Award

2001 AK

State Court

1,400,000

S

Jury, Settlement

2002 AL

Federal, ND

90,000

S

Settlement

1998 CA

Federal

1,008,000

S

Settlement

2000 CA

Federal

1,180,000

S

Settlement

1991 CT

Federal

385,000

S

Jury

2000 DC

Federal

350,000

S,I

Jury

1999 DC

Federal

35,250

S

Jury

1994 DC

Federal

S

Judge

Injunctive

Docs?

Staff/inmate Decision maker

1995 FL

Federal

115,000

I

Judge

1992 GA

Federal

175,000

S

Jury, Settlement

2003 IA

Federal

47,500

S

Jury, Judge

2007 IL

Federal, SD

900,000

S

Settlement

IN

Federal, SD

150,000

I

Settlement

1983 LA

Federal, Appeals

380,000

I

Jury, Judge

2004 MA

Federal

675,000

S

Settlement

2000 MI

State Court

S,I

Settlement

3,787,000

1996 MO

Federal

50,000

S

Jury

2000 MO

Federal

2,200,000

S,I

Settlement

1982 MO

Federal

30,000

I

Jury, Judge

2007 MO

Federal

250,000

S

Jury, Judge

1997 NJ

Trial Court

253,220

S

Jury

1997 NY

Federal

450,000

S

Jury

2003 NY

Federal

195,000

S

Jury

2006 OH

Federal

658,067

S

Jury

2006 OR

Federal

9,000,000

S

Settlement

2006 OR

Federal

100,000

S

Settlement

35,000

S

Settlement

2007 PA

2004 TX

Federal

4,000,000

S

Jury

1999 TX

Federal

4,100,000

S

Jury

1997 TX

5th Circuit

1,100,000

S

Bench trial

2000 TX

Federal

1,005,000

S

Judge

1991 TX

Trial Court

2005

Federal

250,000

3,000,000

I

Judge

S

Jury

Number of
Plaintiffs
Gender

Name/Source

Description
5 female inmates were sexually assaulted at halfway house. Guard
admitted assaulting them.

5F

2F

3F

56 F

1F

1F

1F

J.W. et al v. Allves
Doe v. City of
The plaintiffs, Jane Doe, 32, and Janet Doe, 22, alleged that
Homewood
while incarcerated at the Homewood city jail in April and
USDC ND AL,
September 1999, guards forced them to perform nonconsensual
Case No. 00-C- sex acts. The plaintiffs claimed a history of such behavior at the
2948-5
jail, both by defendants Doug Crowder and Darrell Sykes and by
3 female inmates were beaten, raped, and sold for sex by guards. For
instance, one officer demanded that one plaintiff show him her breasts
or genitals in order to receive prison issued t-shirt. When she refused,
plaintiff was not given t-shirt. Plaintiffs alleged officials were aware of
assaults but did nothing when plaintiffs repeatedly begged for
protection. In addition, after one of the plaintiff's official complaints
became common knowledge, her cell door was opened while sleeping
and 3 men beat, raped, and sodomized her. Her life was also
threatened and she was informed that the attack was in retaliation for
her complaint.

Lucas v. White
Cruz v. Vasquez, Allegations of sexual abuse and rape of 56 female inmates by male
No. C9520776
guards.
(U.S.D.C. N.D. Cal.

34-year-old female inmate sexually assaulted by male guard and
Baber v. McDonald suffered severe emotional distress.
Unrebutted evidence showed that female inmate was subjected to
continuous sexual harassment and abuse by prison workers and
inmates including forced naked dancing, denial of library privileges due
to refusal to have sex with librarian, and isolated confinement without
underwear or mattress.
Daskalea v. D.C.
Facts were not in dispute that on three occasions over the course of a
month where female inmate took part in strip shows and engaged in
sexual relations with a guard, there were no supervisory persons
present at the prison. Plaintiff female inmate claimed that these
encounters were not consensual.

Newby v. D.C.
Female prisoners alleged repeated physical and sexual assaults and
Women
Prisoners v. D.C. sexual harassment by correctional officers.

CA

F

LaMarca v. Turner The inmates asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief,

as well as damages, alleging that their constitutional rights had
been violated by the conditions of their confinement, including
failure to protect them from physical and sexual assault by fellow
inmates, inadequate ventilation, poor lighting, inadequate
exercise, only three showers per week, no canteen privileges,
and only limited use of the law library.
3M
Male guard raped 25-year-old female inmate and videotape shows
guard sexually harassing plaintiff and another female. Plaintiff suffered
psychological damage and mental anguish.

1F

Isdell v. McBerry
Riley v. Olk-Long

1F
C.P. v. O'Donnell

Female inmate took deputy to court. Deputy, a 17-year veteran of the
office, pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct with an offender, and Black
Hawk County agreed to pay a $47,500 civil settlement.

15 year old boy sent to St. Clair County juvenile custody center in
2005 and was sexually assaulted ("inappropriately touched"
according to news source) by a guard

1M
Following an Indiana federal district court's denial of summary
judgment to the Marion County Sheriff, the Sheriff settled the
matter by giving $150,000

1M

Merriweather v.
Marion County
Sheriff

1M

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a U.S.
District Court's award of punitive and compensatory damages to
a plaintiff who was beaten and raped in jail. Defendants appeal
Stokes
asserted the evidence was insufficient to find in the Plaintiff's
v.Delcambre, 710 favor; they should have been immune from prosecution; and
F.2d 1120 (5th
punitive damages were excessive and the trial court's standard
Cir. 1983)
for assessing them was wrong.
Roe v. Mojica

3 male guards raped female inmate on different occasions while 4th
guard acted as a lookout. Inmate subsequently impregnated. Boston
Globe described alleged crimes as "guard-inmate drugs-for-sex ring."

Anderson v. Dept
of Corrections

Female prisoners in Michigan DOC facilities failed suit in state
court regarding sexual assault and abuse among other
mistreatment. A parallel federal suit was dismissed when the
parties made settlement.

1F

31 F

Female inmate raped by guard. Other women testified they had sex
with guards, were sexually assaulted, and were watched while
showering and using the toilet. There was also testimony that the same
guard had inappropriate sexual contact with another female inmate
described as "mentally slow."

1F

CA

Ware v. Jackson
County
In re: Texas
Litigation

This was a class action prisoner § 1983 lawsuit pending in the
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Plaintiffs
were Missouri prisoners who were transferred from Missouri
state-penal institutions to jails in Texas pursuant to the “Texas
Cell Lease Program,” a contract between the Missouri
Department of Corrections [DOC] and several Texas counties
and a city whereby the Texas entities agreed to house and
supervise the Missouri prisoners in exchange for money.Plaintiffs
alleged violations of their constitutional rights due to a wide range
of conduct which included beatings, dog attacks, rapes, and poor
conditions of confinement.

F, M
Wade v. Haynes

1M

1M

Respondent was harassed, beaten and sexually assaulted by
cellmates. Alleges his 8th Amendment rights were violated. Was
appealed to Supreme Court, which held that the security guard
held liable (other officials were not) could be responsible for
punitive damages.
Plaintiff was repeatedly raped by prison staff member, filed under
1983 and awarded 250,000 plus costs and fees. State did not
appeal but refused to pay, Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed.

State ex rel.
Cravens v. Nixon,
234 S.W.3d 442
(Mo.App.D. 2007)
Collins v. Union
County Jail

1M

Male inmate raped by male guard. Inmate suffered no lingering
physical damage, but suffered permanent psychological damage in
form of posttraumatic stress disorder. Court noted that due to rape,
plaintiff lost ability to function in normal mental state, suffers from
frequent nightmares, flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, severe loss of selfesteem, and inability to trust others.

Mathie v. Fries,
121 F.3d 808 (2 nd
Cir. 1997)

1M

County jail security director sexually abused a male prisoner.

Morris v. Eversley, Inmate was sexually assaulted by guard while she slept. She collected
282 F.Supp.2d 196 DNA, which was later tested and confirmed to be guard’s.
(SDNY 2003)

1F

1F

Ortiz v. Bright
Dunn v. City of
Eugene

Male correctional officer grabbed female plaintiff's breast and ran his
hand over plaintiff's fully clothed and blanketed breast and crotch area.
Plaintiff also alleged she was digitally raped. Plaintiff alleged her
placement in solitary confinement was retaliatory and she was denied
adequate medical care.

Unknown plaintiffs filed a Federal civil rights complaint against
the City of Eugene, Oregon, claiming that Eugene Police Officer
Roger Magena and other unnamed officers engaged in a pattern
of sexual misconduct reported by citizens, due to insufficient
supervision on evening shifts. A $900,000 settlement (the largest
in Eugene's history) in favor of the plaintiffs was reached after the
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon issued a strongly
worded 39 page order upholding their liability claims.

6F

1M

1F

DHM v State of
Oregon (06-127
MA v State of
Oregon)
Lambert v. Ruan,
USDC, WD PA,
Case No: 96-247
Shirley, et al v.
Miller, et al

This case was combined with several others filed by youth
detained in Oregon juvenile system (OYA) alleging sexual abuse
and other staff abuse. All parties eventually settled.
Plaintiff was sexually assaulted by two male staff and videotaped
nude by female guard, said PDOC fostered a culture of sexual
abuse.
Male guard Michael Miller raped female inmate in supply room at prison
work camp.Damages based on finding that guard had committed rape
and violated her civil rights.

1F

2F

"A" and "B" v.
Two female prisoners were raped within one week of each other by
Ament, Cause No. parole officer Taylor during pre-release interview. Officer told inmate he
A98-CA-503
was a Desert Storm participant who had been trained as a sniper and
explosives expert and threatened her family should she report the
incident.
Downey v. Denton Female prisoner raped by male guard while alone in locked, isolated
County, Tex., 119 room for two hours. Prisoner gave birth to child as result.
F.3d. 381 (5th Cir.
1997)

1F

1F

Shotwell v. Swint

33-year-old female inmate continuously sexually assaulted by 37-yearold male chief of security for 1 year. Plaintiff threatened with adverse
treatment if she resisted.

City of Waco v.
Hester

1M

Hester claimed to have been threatened and intimidated before
being raped by another inmate while in jail. Afterwards, Davis
threatened to kill Hester if he told anyone.
Female inmate touched in sexual manner and propositioned by sheriff's
deputy after being arrested. Inmate was sexually massaged by sheriff's
deputy, who also offered her freedom in exchange for sexual favor.

1F

Notes
Guard also received prison term of 22 years.
There was evidence of his past misconduct,
but company did not check his past before
hiring him.

Settlement became public because
news report on use of public funds.

Bureau of Prisons agreed to improve its
sexual harassment and assault policies by
expanding sexual harassment training
program, providing immediate medical and
psychiatric care for assaulted inmates, and
developing confidential system of reporting
attacks to protect against retaliation.

Defendant defaulted on plaintiff's civil rights
claim, but plaintiff received directed verdict
on issue of damages. Defendant fired for
reasons directly related to attack.
Mental and emotional distress enough under
1983. Lasting physical injury not required.

One female inmate testified that she was
beaten by guards for refusing to take part in
strip shows. Another female inmate
"testified without contradiction that she
participated in the dancing against her will
out of fear of physical retaliation from prison
guards if she refused." Court noted that,
considering that these incidents occurred
seven months after Women Prisoners , the
District has done little to implement the
remedial steps stipulated by that opinion.
Also, the same naked dancing incidents
were at issue in Daskalea.
Injunctive relief including promulgation of
sexual harassment policy.

A class action suit that resulted in
monetary damages for three plaintiffs

Defendant guard was prosecuted for rape
and sexual contact with a prisoner, but was
found guilty of sexual contact only.
Defendants denied plaintiff's rape allegation,
contended that training and prevention
measures were adequate, and that guard
was not involved in any similar incident prior
to the subject incident. Jury awarded
334,432 but parties settled for 175,000

8th Circuit upheld on appeal the jury
decision

Pre-trial juvenile placed in county adult
jail juvenile wing instead of juvenil facility
and assaulted and raped by 4 other
detainees

Inmate impregnated. Jail officials denied any
wrongdoing.

Jurors felt that guards were breaking rules of
conduct at jail, but nothing was done to
discipline them. Appeals Court affirmed
entry of judgment in favor of inmate.
Appeals Court noted that county's deliberate
indifference was shown by its failure to
adequately discipline guard when there was
ample evidence that inmate was put at risk.

Guard pleaded guilty and was fired. New
Jersey Supreme Court held that debilitating
psychological disorder caused by rape
constituted permanent loss of bodily function
pursuant to Tort Claims Act.

Guard also convicted of aggravated sexual
assault and 4 related charges in criminal
trial. Guard sentenced to 12.5 years in
prison and ordered to pay $207,175 in
restitution.
Taylor resigned from the prison in November
1996. He was charged with criminal sexual
assault and found not guilty.

Judgement against county for 100,000
and assailant for 1,000,000 under state
tort claims, not 1983. Decision affirmed
on appeal to 5th circuit