Published: November 09, 2009 11:32 am      

W.Va. works to address sexual abuse in prisons

MORGANTOWN — Twenty-one women have filed lawsuits against the state’s Division of Corrections, Regional Jail Authority, Department of Education and 10 individuals over allegations of sexual misconduct in West Virginia prisons, ranging from sexual harassment to rape.

State officials say they are striving to identify the problems within the system and make corrections.

According to the lawsuits, almost all of the individuals being sued are men.

In some cases, the women allege they would face “dire consequences” by their attackers if they reported any wrongdoing.

Joe Thornton is the deputy secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. He says the department takes all allegations very seriously and anyone found guilty will face consequences.

“Certainly they would never work for this department ever again in any capacity,” he said.

One of the women’s attorneys, Mike Woelfel, argues that women should be responsible for supervising female inmates at prisons.

But Thornton says this isn’t the answer.

“If we had to move toward a policy of only female correctional officers supervising female inmates, we would never be able to staff the institution,” he said.

“While it may curb male-on-female sexual assaults,” he said, “I don’t think you would see all sexual misconduct accusations go away, both founded and unfounded.”

Thornton says the state’s goal is to continue educating its personnel and prosecuting those who break the rules.

He says the state tries to avoid having situations where guards and inmates are left alone.

“They’re hired as professionals, we treat them as professionals,” he said, “I would say 99 percent of our staff act in an appropriate manner in all instances.

“But you are always going to have a few people out there that the situation leads them down a path that they may not necessarily have gone otherwise.”

Meanwhile, human rights groups carefully track sexual misconduct allegations in the state’s prisons.

The ACLU of West Virginia discourages cross gender searches and seeks to eliminate physical circumstances in prisons where sexual abuse can be committed. Terri Baur is the legal director.

“We’re saddened to hear about it, but not really surprised,” she said. “Our prisons are overcrowded and under funded. These things happen in situations like that.”

The women are demanding trials by jury. According to West Virginia Code, it is a felony for anyone employed by the Division of Corrections, Regional Jail Authority, or Correctional Facility Authority to engage in sexual intercourse or sexual intrusion of an incarcerated person.

Those found guilty are subject to one to five years in prison or a $5,000 fine.