Michigan Prison Guards ‘Did Nothing’ to Stop Adult Prisoners from Raping Juveniles
December 16th, 2013Via: Russia Today:
Michigan prison officials needlessly housed juvenile inmates with adult convicts, where the guards then ignored allegations that the young inmates were sexually abused and essentially used as currency inside the facility, according to a new lawsuit.
Brought forth by seven unnamed juvenile prisoners, the case hinges on the idea that the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) has consistently failed to keep prisoners under the age of 18 apart from the more hardened adult inmates. It alleges that at least two of the plaintiffs were repeatedly raped because their older cellmates were selling access to the younger ones. It goes on to implicate corrections officers for allowing the rape to continue.
“MDOC staff was aware of the assaults and aware that male adult prisoners were paying John Doe 5’s cellmate access for access to John Doe 5 for purposes of sexually assaulting him,” the suit claims.
Deborah LeBelle, an attorney based in Ann Arbor, told MLive.com that she was aware of the suit when it was initially filed in October, but decided to bring it back to light because of the seriousness of the allegations. When the suit was re-filed, it was classified as a violation of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, a Michigan law that forbids differential treatment based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status.
LeBelle told the Michigan news site she was stunned that teens who may have barely gone through puberty are locked up with adults – which also increases their risk of recidivism.
“I didn’t know the extent of the damage those choices had wrought in Michigan until I started talking to the youth,” she said. “And, I found it heartbreaking…If you put all of these together; I saw it as a tragic waste.”
