Levy Konigsberg Files 10 Rikers Island Sex Abuse Lawsuits for Female Inmates, 100+ More Expected
The sexual abuse litigation team of Levy Konigsberg has filed 10 Rikers Island sexual abuse lawsuits for former female inmates of the Rose M. Singer Center. In the coming months at least another 100 such lawsuits are expected to be filed by the law firm.
NEW YORK, April 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The sexual abuse litigation team of Levy Konigsberg in New York has filed 10 sexual abuse lawsuits for former female inmates of the Rose M. Singer Center (Rosie's or RMSC) on Rikers Island. The law firm expects at least another 100 such lawsuits to be filed in the coming months.
All 10 lawsuits have used the New York Adult Survivors Act, which creates a lookback window to file civil claims on behalf of adult sex abuse survivors until November 24, 2023. Each lawsuit alleges the New York City Department of Corrections' (NYC DOC) failure to protect female inmates and its deliberate attempts to cover up reports of sexual abuse at Rikers.
Decades' worth of evidence shows that incidents of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual coercion at Rosie's were well-known and carried out by correctional officers and other agents of the NYC DOC. In some cases, it is reportedly clear that certain officers had knowledge of when the next sexual abuse would occur yet did nothing to stop it. Additionally, the United States Department of Justice found that RMSC was among the 12 most dangerous prisons in the country in terms of high rates of staff sexual misconduct, and a Public Advocate for New York City would later admit that New York City jails, including Rosie's, were "outliers with high rates of victimization […]" and "sexual abuse and harassment" of inmates.
This egregious failure of oversight and administrative control over the correctional facility and its staff is the root cause of New York City's liability in the sexual abuse lawsuits, as argued by Levy Konigsberg Attorney Anna Kull. Using the New York Adult Survivors Act, the first 10 lawsuits are demanding compensatory damages on behalf of the women who were abused at Rosie's. The predicted 100+ lawsuits to be filed soon are expected to demand similar damages.
Attorney Anna Kull of Levy Konigsberg, who is part of the firm's sexual abuse litigation department, has said:
"The exploitation of power by correctional officers at Rose M. Singer Center, the all-female jail on Rikers Island, New York, is well known and well documented. New York City Department of Corrections is aware of the significant risk and prevalence of sexual coercion of women in custody, but it nonetheless permits a culture of systemic rape and other sexual abuse of women by correction officers to persist. The City's policies, practices, and lack of faithful investigations have enabled and encouraged widespread sexual misconduct. The Adult Survivors Act is critical in allowing these survivors of sexual assault to seek justice for the irreparable harm they have suffered."
Levy Konigsberg Attorney Anna Kull is recognized nationally as a legal leader in correctional facility sexual abuse lawsuits and litigation. In September 2022, the New York Daily News published a cover story that featured Attorney Kull and her representation of women who were sexually abused at the now-closed Bayview Correctional Facility. In March 2023, Brut Media published a short documentary about Attorney Kull's role in spearheading the litigation against New York prisons on behalf of female inmates who were sexually abused in custody. More information about the article and the documentary can be found at https://www.levylaw.com/documents/NYDailyNews.com.pdf and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvtPDvvCu6g, respectively.
Interested parties can learn more about the firm's involvement in the Rikers Island sexual abuse lawsuits by visiting www.levylaw.com. Members of the media who want more information about these lawsuits should ask for Attorney Anna Kull, who is acting as Levy Konigsberg's media contact.
Media Contact:
Anna Kull
[email protected]
SOURCE Levy Konigsberg
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