719 sexual assault lawsuits over alleged abuse at Rikers Island seek $14 billion from NYC
NEW YORK - An astonishing 719 sexual assault lawsuits have been filed against the Department of Correction by female inmates alleging a pattern of abuse that goes back decades.
One woman said she was abused multiple times in the 33 days she spent at Rikers Island on a DUI charge.
Her charges are graphic.
From the air, Rikers Island looks like a jail, but it became a chamber of horrors for a woman named Jeny who said she was sexually abused multiple times by correction officers while she was locked up on a drunk driving charge.
"They asked me to do, most of the time, oral sex or masturbation," Jeny said. "It was the scariest experience I've ever had in my life. It made me feel ashamed of myself. I mean, I come from a religious background... I felt helpless. Like, I felt like I didn't have a choice."
Jeny is one of over 700 women who have filed suit against the Department of Correction. The lawsuits were first reported by Gothamist, and the charges, in some cases, go back decades.
Anna Kull is Jeny's lawyer.
"Jeny was in Rikers for only about 33 days," Kull said. "During that very short time period, she was abused approximately six times by several officers who would pull her out of a dorm room at night with several other women, take them to secluded areas within the jail, and force the women to perform oral sex and other sexual favors."
The suits were filed under Adult Survivors Act signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul that gave victims of sexual abuse a one year window to bring charges.
Konstantin Yelisavetskiy is a Managing Attorney at Slater Slater Schulman LLP, the firm representing 475 women who were imprisoned in the Rose M. Singer Correctional Facility on Rikers.
"Everything you can think of... there were plenty of instances where officers would not wear condoms," Yelisavetskiy said. "Truly horrific things. We have instances where women became impregnated, and either suffered medical complications, ectopic pregnancies, or had to undergo abortions."
The lawsuits are seeking over $14 billion in damages, which is more than three times what the city has spent on the migrant crisis. The attorneys also want the city to remove correction officers who still work on Rikers.
Jeny had a message for her tormentors.
"You need help, because you come from a mother, and you know no woman deserves to be treated this way," she said.
In addition to the Rikers suits, over 2,000 women held at other New York jails are seeking damages.
Mayor Eric Adams said he was shocked at the revelations, and called for a complete investigation.
A spokesperson for the Department of Correction said it was trying to improve "the way we manage sexual misconduct cases."