Prison Clerk Raped By Inmate To Reportedly Get $3.3 Million
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's Department of Corrections is settling a federal lawsuit filed by a prison clerk whose rape by an inmate led to a leadership shake-up and changes in prison operations.
The agency told The Associated Press on Monday, in response to an open-records request, that it will pay the woman $3.3 million.
She claimed that prison officials had ignored her security concerns before Omar Best, a convicted rapist, sexually assaulted her last year at Rockview State Prison.
Her complaint said Best choked her to the point of unconsciousness before he raped her in an office located near prison cells.
She blew an emergency whistle, but it took nearly a half-hour for help to arrive.
Best is serving a life sentence for the attack after being convicted of rape and other charges.
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