Illinois: A female prisoner says she was raped by a transgender inmate who transferred to her housing unit. The accused rapist identifies as female but has male genitalia. https://t.co/JWW3FOWkLY— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) February 20, 2020
The Post Millenial
written by Anna Slatz
February 20, 2020
A female inmate at the Logan Correctional Centre in Illinois is suing the prison after alleging they attempted to cover up her sexual assault by a transgender inmate that was housed with her.
The proceedings were covered by Public Broadcasting Service station WTTW, who reported the victim, referred to as Jane Doe, was sexually assaulted in June 2019. Doe alleges she was then coerced by a correctional officer into withdrawing her claim, which led to her being punished for having filed a false report under the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
Doe’s alleged assailant is named as Janiah Monroe, a transgender inmate who identifies as female but has male genitalia. According to WTTW, Monroe and another transgender inmate recently sued the Illinois Department of Corrections, demanding transfers to women’s facilities. Monroe, formerly known as Andre Patterson, had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the attempted murder of a government employee, before receiving an additional 20 years for murdering a cellmate after being imprisoned.
In her lawsuit, Jane Doe states Monroe began “expressing an interest” in her after being transferred to Logan Corrections Centre. On June 18th, 2019, Doe was sexually assaulted by Monroe. The smaller female says she was “easily overpowered.”
Doe says she was interviewed by senior correctional officer Todd Sexton while in the prison’s Health Unit, who allegedly did not believe she had been assaulted, and pressured her to retract her statement. Determining it was “consensual sex,” Doe was punished as having committed the “major infraction” of filing a false rape report, and was punished under the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
Alan Mills, who leads the Uptown People’s Law Center, the firm which sued the Illinois Department of Corrections to demand Monroe’s transfer, claimed Monroe may have been targeted due to “transphobia.”
— Global Awareness 101 (@Mononoke__Hime) February 21, 2020
The Blaze
written by Phil Shiver
February 21, 2020
The prison claims the inmate is the target of 'transphobia'.
A female prisoner at the Logan Correctional Center in Illinois is suing the prison for reportedly covering up her alleged sexual assault at the hands of a transgender inmate last year.
What are the details?
The woman, who is identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, alleged that an inmate who "identifies as female, but still has male genitalia" was moved into her housing unit last summer and immediately began to "express interest" in her, according to a report by PBS WTTW-TV.
In the lawsuit, she recalled that she was "terrified of this inmate as the inmate was much bigger and stronger" and because she had heard that the inmate "had assaulted prior cellmates and had been convicted of murder."
The woman then said she was raped by the inmate, but that after she reported the incident to authorities only a "sham investigation" ensued.
The woman alleged that she was told by an officer "that he did not believe her and he pressured Plaintiff to say there was no sexual assault." She said she was "coerced" into saying the encounter was consensual and soon after filed a grievance with the Illinois Department of Corrections.
A female prisoner at the Logan Correctional Center in Illinois is suing the prison for reportedly covering up her alleged sexual assault at the hands of a transgender inmate last year.
What are the details?
The woman, who is identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, alleged that an inmate who "identifies as female, but still has male genitalia" was moved into her housing unit last summer and immediately began to "express interest" in her, according to a report by WTTW-TV.
In the lawsuit, she recalled that she was "terrified of this inmate as the inmate was much bigger and stronger" and because she had heard that the inmate "had assaulted prior cellmates and had been convicted of murder."
The woman then said she was raped by the inmate, but that after she reported the incident to authorities only a "sham investigation" ensued.
The woman alleged that she was told by an officer "that he did not believe her and he pressured Plaintiff to say there was no sexual assault." She said she was "coerced" into saying the encounter was consensual and soon after filed a grievance with the Illinois Department of Corrections.
In return, the IDOC determined that she committed a "major infraction" for filing a "false" complaint under the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
'Transphobia' or a cover-up?
The alleged assailant, who is identified in the lawsuit as Janiah Monroe, formerly known as Andre Patterson, had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the attempted murder of a government employee and then received 20 more years after he strangled a cellmate to death.
Monroe and another inmate had previously sued the IDOC, demanding a transfer to women's prison facilities after they had allegedly been the subject of abuse and insults from male inmates.
The suit names Logan's acting warden Beatrice Calhoun as a defendant, along with officers Brent Keeler and Todd Sexton.
Alan Mills, who leads the Uptown People's Law Center, and has represented Monroe in the past, said that Monroe has been the subject of unfounded complaints ever since transferring to Logan. Mills added that he believes transphobia to be the reason for allegations against his former client.
"A deeper point here is that since Ms. Monroe was transferred to Logan, she's made a lot of friends and has found substantial support among other prisoners and some staff," Mills said, according to WTTW-TV. "But transphobia exists everywhere, both out here on the street and in prison, so it's not surprising that there are some people who feel uncomfortable with her presence in a women's prison."
On the other hand, the plaintiff's attorneys are suggesting that the prison is attempting to cover up the incident so as to not draw unwanted attention to their controversial transgender policies.
"The transfer of transgender inmates from male to female prisons has been a contentious policy within IDOC," the attorneys wrote in the complaint. "In an attempt to justify the transfers, Defendants Sexton, Calhoun, Keeler and currently other unknown IDOC employees covered up the sexual assault of Plaintiff and tried to falsely classify it as consensual, to keep it from being considered a PREA violation."
Transgender inmate at Logan accused of rape:https://t.co/LWoYISGBsZ— Illinois Times (@ILTimes) February 20, 2020
Illinois Times
written by Bruce Rushton
February 27, 2020
A transgender woman sent to Logan Correctional Center from a men's prison has faced rape accusations and remains at the women's prison in Lincoln after the governor's office reportedly overruled a move by corrections officials to return her to a men's facility.
More than one Logan inmate has reported being sexually assaulted by Janiah Monroe, known as Andre Patterson by the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to court documents. In a federal lawsuit aimed at forcing corrections officials to adequately treat gender dysphoria and improve care for transgender inmates, Dr. William Puga, head of psychiatry for the Department of Corrections, last year testified that Monroe wasn't welcomed when she was moved to Logan last spring.
"Dr. Puga received information that Monroe threatened staff and other inmates," U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Rosenstengel wrote in a December injunction ordering the Department of Corrections to provide hormones to transgender inmates and cease making housing assignments based on genitalia or physical appearance. "Women at the facility filed complaints against Monroe under the Prison Rape Elimination Act; some were false but many were legitimate." Puga also testified that Monroe stopped taking hormones after arriving at Logan.
A sexual misconduct charge against Monroe has been upheld. Alan Mills, her attorney, says it was a case of consensual sex. Other sexual assault allegations, he says, weren't proven.
"All I can tell you is none (of the accusations) have been found to be founded and all have been denied by her," Mills says. He adds that Monroe, who has a history of mutilating her genitals and has attempted to castrate herself, denies that she's stopped taking hormones. Monroe has requested surgery so that her body matches her gender identity.
On Feb. 10, a Logan inmate filed a Jane Doe lawsuit against several Logan prison employees, alleging that Monroe had raped her and that she was wrongly punished after reporting the assault to prison staff, who discounted it. Like the plaintiff, Monroe isn't identified by name in the lawsuit, but multiple sources confirmed that she is the person accused of rape.
The lawsuit came three days after U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mihm issued an injunction barring the Department of Corrections from moving Monroe to a men's prison without providing 14 days notice to the court and her lawyer and an explanation showing why a transfer is necessary.
The Department of Corrections tried to move Monroe out of Logan last June, about three months after she was moved to the women's prison from Pontiac Correctional Center, where she says she was sexually assaulted, harassed and abused by inmates and staff. In a written statement to the court, Monroe says that she was put in a van that made it to the prison gate before turning around. In her statement, Monroe says she was told that the governor's office stepped in to stop a transfer to Pontiac.
"(W)hat happened was, the governor's office called someone at the Department of Corrections and said, 'Don't let this happen,' and it didn't," Mills says. He said he didn't know how the governor's office learned that Monroe was being moved. The governor's office didn't immediately respond to an email from Illinois Times asking about the aborted transfer.
Rape allegations aside, Monroe's time at Logan hasn't been easy.
She's been housed in segregation for her own safety, according to court records. In October, she attempted suicide with a razor. Her injuries were serious enough that she was treated outside prison grounds.
Louis Meyer, attorney for the inmate who says that she was punished for reporting that she'd been raped by Monroe, said that the alleged assault occurred last summer, about a month after prison officials began transfer proceedings that were cut short. "It's going to come down to a jury sizing up the individuals and testing their credibility," Meyer said.
Shortly after the alleged assault, Glen Austin, then Logan Correctional Center warden, testified in a deposition that Monroe had told officials that she had no sexual interest in women. Mills said it's common for inmates, having no other opportunities, to have sex with other inmates even though they identify as heterosexual.
Austin described Monroe's time at Logan as "turbulent."
"Multiple tickets, serious infractions, previous PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) allegations, inappropriate sexual behavior and a confirmed investigation that substantiated sexual misconduct," Austin said in his July deposition. "Her actions here at the facility, I think with her history, to me it is very concerning."
Monroe, 30, has been locked up since 2005, when she was charged with shooting two people outside a barbershop. In 2006, she strangled her cellmate in the Cook County jail. Department of Corrections records show she's serving time for 11 felonies, including second degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, aggravated battery involving a government employee, three counts of aggravated battery involving a peace officer, two counts of aggravated attempted arson, damage to government property and bringing contraband into a penal institution.
The December injunction issued by Rosenstengel requires the Department of Corrections to develop policies to ensure that decisions about treating gender dysphoria are made by qualified medical professionals. The injunction also states that the department must allow inmates to obtain evaluations for gender dysphoria upon request and provide access to clothing and grooming products consistent with gender identities.
"The court recognizes that these changes will take time, but in light of the serious deficiencies in IDOC's treatment of transgender inmates, (the court) seeks assurance that progress is underway," Rosenstengel wrote. Concerned that the Department of Corrections wasn't taking transgender issues seriously, the judge ordered top prison officials named in the lawsuit to read the transcript of a two-day hearing that resulted in the injunction.
Mills said he doesn't think feelings about Monroe or other transgender people are uniform at Logan.
"I think you can't talk about everybody at Logan as a group any more than you can on the outside," Mills said. "Some people are extremely comfortable with transgender folks, some are not. The same is true with race. ... We have rules against discrimination within society. Discrimination based on sexual orientation is one of them."
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