US prison guard sold women's cell keys to men, enabling rape, assault
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A lawsuit has been filed by 28 female inmates from Clark County jail, Jeffersonville.
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US prison guard sold women's cell keys to men, enabling rape, assault
Female prison inmates at an Indiana prison have filed lawsuits against their prison guards, alleging that they were subjected to a "night of terror" when a guard sold the women's cell keys to male prisoners, who sexually assaulted them in their cells.
A total of 28 women, in the filed lawsuits, said they were attacked shortly after midnight on the night of October 23, 2021, at the Clark County jail in Jeffersonville.
The prisoners accused the prison guard, David Lowe, of providing the key to the male inmates for $1,000.
The inmates who attacked the women wore masks made out of towels and blankets, and the attack lasted for 2 hours despite surveillance cameras - the guards sitting at the cameras did not intervene.
"Even though the incident involved multiple male detainees and dozens of victims over an extended period of time, not a single jail officer on duty that night came to the aid of the plaintiffs and the other victims," one of the lawsuits said.
"These systemic failures allowed numerous male assailants to have free run of the jail for several hours, resulting in a night of terror for the plaintiffs and other victims," it said.
The lawsuits revealed details of sexual assault, and two of the women accused the men of rape.
Jail officials punished the women instead of the attackers, left their lights on for 72 hours straight, placed them on "lockdown", and confiscated their personal items.
Although the lawsuit pointed to Lowe as a defendant, the lawsuits also accused the County Sheriff, Jamey Noel, of negligence for failing to prevent the attack.
"He had oversight responsibility for ensuring that inmates were protected and not subject to abuse," one of the lawsuits said.
