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The two prisons named in the lawsuit, Bedford Hills Correctional Facility and Taconic Correctional Facility, both located in Bedford, will be part of a series of civil actions alleging that at least 750 individuals were sexually assaulted while in the custody of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, according to an announcement by Slater Slater Schulman LLP from Wednesday, Nov. 16.
The lawsuit, filed by civil rights and personal injury attorneys Ben Crump of Ben Crump Law and Adam Slater of Slater Slater Schulman LLP on behalf of the victims, also involves several other prisons in the state, including Bayview Correctional Facility in Manhatten, according to the law firm.
Of the 750 claims, Bedford Hills Correctional Facility has the third highest volume at 79, while Taconic Correctional Facility has 54 claims, the announcement said.
"These women were forced to suffer horrific abuse while under the supposed protection of the State of New York. Under its watch, an epidemic of violence and abuse of power was running rampant throughout numerous facilities across the state. And they did nothing," Crump said.
The lawsuit will be filed on Thursday, Nov. 24, the same day as the enactment of New York's Adult Survivors Act, which will extend the statute of limitations for victims of sexual assault and give them more time to seek recourse after they are released, according to the law firm.
The act, which was signed into law on Tuesday, May 24, establishes a one-year time period for victims of sex crimes over 18 to file suit for crimes for which the statute of limitations had previously expired, the law firm said.
"We passed the Adult Survivors Act because for too long, survivors of sexual abuse were shut out of the courthouse by New York State's formerly inadequate statutes of limitations," New York State Senator Brad Hoylman said.
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