Inmates sexually abused by guards, civil suit says
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The back of the State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh as viewed from Doerr Street on the North Side.
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Inmates at the State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh were subjected to a pattern of sexual abuse and other mistreatment, according to a civil lawsuit filed Thursday that purported to cast new light on the suspensions of eight guards and the dismissals of four top officials this year.
The graphic allegations range from threatening inmates with physical or disciplinary actions if they did not provide guards or other inmates with sexual favors to deliberately contaminating inmate food with bodily fluids. They were met with silence by the state Department of Corrections, which is one of the named defendants.
The accusations of abuse committed prior to a May leadership change at the lock-up along the Ohio River warrant "a complete investigation of how this could occur without someone outside being aware of it," said Marion Damick, co-convenor of the Allegheny County chapter of the Pennsylvania Prison Society.
"It's certainly particularly egregious, yes," Ms. Damick said. "It's a situation where you can have very prejudiced [guards] who feel that they are able, without fear of discipline, to engage in whatever activities they want to." If true, the allegations "reflect very strongly on the management that oversaw the [guards] in the state institution."
"Inmates make accusations all the time," said David Mandella, local vice president of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association, which represents the guards. "As far as I'm concerned, 99.9 percent of the time, they're false."
He said an Allegheny County grand jury is investigating the matter and has interviewed four of the suspended officers, who have been sworn to secrecy.
"As far as I know, there's been no proof of any of these accusations, obviously, or obviously they would've charged my members," he said.
First Published September 23, 2011 12:00 am
