Survivor Stories
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Rafael, New York
Rafael, New York
After serving 23 years without incident, Rafael encountered a corrections officer who conducted abusive pat searches on inmates. Despite Rafael’s effort to report the officer, nothing was done.
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Frank, California
Frank, California
While in a Los Angeles jail, Frank suffered persistent harassment by corrections officers for being openly gay. After a particularly intense verbal attack, Frank was beaten and raped by an officer in the middle of the night. He was released a few days later, and filed formal complaints.
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Jan, Michigan
Jan, Michigan
A power-obsessed prison worker abused Jan and many other inmates for years before he was caught. Years later, Jan and hundreds of female state prisoners settled a class action suit with Michigan for over $100 million after a jury found that prison officials for years ignored cases of rape, sexual advances, and groping by staff.
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Some of these stories are graphic, uncensored accounts of actual rapes and surrounding circumstances. The language used may be raw and include street slang. JDI has made only minor edits for spelling and clarity. The views expressed are those of the individual survivor/author, and are not necessarily the views of Just Detention International.
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Angela is a transgender woman who was repeatedly abused in a Colorado prison. After she reported the abuse, nothing was done to protect her.
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While in a Los Angeles jail, Frank suffered persistent harassment by corrections officers for being openly gay. After a particularly intense verbal attack, Frank was beaten and raped by an officer in the middle of the night. He was released a few days later, and filed formal complaints.
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A female corrections officer regularly groped and verbally harassed Beverly during pat searches at the Crain Unit, a women’s prison run by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. After reporting the abuse, she was transferred to a maximum security prison far away from her family.
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Bryson was raped by at least 27 inmates over the course of nine months during his incarceration at an Arkansas state prison. Bryson, who contracted HIV as a result of the attacks, passed away in 2010.
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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.