DOJ Investigation Uncovers Rampant Sexual Abuse by Florida Prison Staffers

An investigation conducted by the Department of Justice(DOJ) found rampant sexual abuse of female prisoners at Lowell Correctional Institution. The Department reported that the assaults have been ongoing since at least in 2006.

DOJ: Lowell Correctional Staff Committed "Notorious Acts of Sexual Abuse"

After examining nearly 100,000 pages of documentation and multiple inmate interviews, the investigation concluded that from 2017 until the present, some prison staffers have “committed notorious acts of sexual abuse” against prisoners, involving  staff raping, beating, sodomizing, and suffocating female prisoners, which were labeled as “varied and disturbing.”

Following the investigation, the DOJ concluded there is “reasonable cause to believe” that the Eighth Amendment at the Lowell Correctional Institution has been disregarded. A notice by DOJ read that they have reasons to believe that “Lowell violates the constitutional rights of prisoners in its care,” which resulted in serious harm to female prisoners, “due to sexual abuse by staff.”

The investigation revealed that despite being aware “of a pattern or practice of staff sexual abuse of Lowell prisoners since at least 2006,” the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) did nothing to stop the violence.