Friday, February 5, 2021 by Joe Byrnes (WMFE)
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Secretary Mark Inch addressed the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice on Jan. 13. Image: The Florida Channel
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The Florida Department of Corrections disagrees with a Justice Department investigation that found a longstanding pattern of sexual abuse by staff at Lowell prison near Ocala.
The letter from FDOC’s lawyer echoes statements by Secretary Mark Inch to a Senate committee.
TALLAHASSEE Florida prison officials are pushing back against a U.S. Department of Justice report that found reasonable cause to believe “varied and disturbing reports” of sexual abuse, including rape, of female inmates by staff members at the state’s largest women’s correctional facility.
The investigation by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and federal prosecutors in Florida also said state officials had documented and been aware of sexual abuse by sergeants, correctional officers and other staff at Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala since at least 2006. The report about alleged misconduct at the women’s prison was released in December.
Lowell state prison. (Facebook)
Florida prison officials are pushing back against a U.S. Department of Justice report that found reasonable cause to believe “varied and disturbing reports” of sexual abuse including rape of female inmates by staff members at the state’s largest women’s correctional facility.
The investigation by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and federal prosecutors in Florida also said state officials had documented and been aware of sexual abuse by sergeants, correctional officers and other staff at Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala since at least 2006. The report about alleged misconduct at the women’s prison was released in December.