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.
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JDI Survivor Council member Troy Issac endured horrific sexual abuse behind bars in youth and adult detention facilities. Troy has become a powerful advocate to end this violence, telling his story to journalists, policymakers, and corrections officials. In 2014, he submitted testimony to a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on solitary confinement.
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A high-ranking corrections official sexually abused Jonathan for months at a federal prison in Florida. Jonathan reported the abuse, which led to a full investigation by the FBI and the Office of Inspector General.
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Adam is an openly gay prisoner who was gang raped and sexually assaulted by detainees at the New Orleans Parish Prison over a period of two months in 2009. During those two months, Adam filed repeated emergency grievances and requested protective custody, but was denied. He agreed to have this testimony read at the Department of Justice’s Review Panel on Prisoner Rape in 2011.
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Kristal was sexually assaulted in a holding cell by a marshal tasked with transporting her to court.
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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.