Survivor Stories

JDI has made only minor edits for spelling and clarity. Please note that some of these stories are graphic and may be difficult to read.

  • A corrections officer sexually abused Andrew in a Florida prison. When Andrew reported the abuse, the officer retaliated, and the abuse grew worse.

  • Two inmates raped Patrick in the shower of an Arizona state prison.

  • A prisoner in Illinois, Gregory was sexually assaulted by a staff member during a strip search. After courageously reporting the abuse, Gregory was sent to solitary confinement as punishment.

  • Cornelius is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse who was sexually assaulted at knifepoint by an older inmate when he was 18 years old. He was too afraid to tell, and kept the abuse a secret. In 2004, Cornelius was sexually assaulted again by another prisoner and contracted HIV. In his testimony, Cornelius describes the pain and hopelessness he has felt and how, with JDI’s help, he is coping.

  • A cellmate raped this young gay man. He was detained in a county jail, and he was later gang-raped by a group of prisoners in a Colorado state prison.