Rikers Island Guard Raped Female Prisoner While a Second Guard Watched: Suit
In March, a federal lawsuit alleges, a Rikers Island correction officer raped a female prisoner on a bus, while another guard watched.
In the suit, the New York Daily News reports, the guards are identified by their last names: Figueroa and Pearson. The woman is identified as Jane Doe.
Figueroa and Pearson had driven the woman and five male inmates from Brooklyn to Rikers that day.
Figueroa pushed her down on a seat in the back of the bus. She protested and begged Figueroa to wear a condom, but he refused, the lawsuit alleges.
Figueroa told the woman he “wanted to give Pearson a show.”
According to the New York Post, the suit states: “Doe considered screaming out but chose not to scream because she realized that any officers who might respond from the [prison] were apt to be male and Doe was frightened that they might assault her as well.”
Earlier this year, a class-action lawsuit alleged the existence of “a pervasive culture of rape” at Rikers Island.
After the Department of Correction deferred comment, a spokesman for the Law Department said, “We’ll review the specific claims when we receive the suit.”
Photo via AP Images. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.
