MI: Trial on sex abuse in prisons nears end

[flashl]

The trial in a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual abuse of female inmates in Michigan prisons in the 1990s -- abuse that, if proved, could cost state taxpayers millions of dollars -- is set to wrap up today after three weeks of testimony in a Washtenaw County courtroom.

Jurors could begin deliberations this afternoon, following closing arguments from lawyers for the state Department of Corrections and 10 inmates and former inmates who claim to have been victimized.

The women allege various forms of sexual assault, inappropriate touching and harassment and invasion of privacy by male staff at the state's female facilities, primarily the Scott Correctional Facility in Plymouth. The lawsuit was originally filed in 1996 and is related to three other pending cases involving 400 plaintiffs.

The Department of Corrections settled another case involving similar complaints by 31 inmates for $3.7 million in 2000. In 1999, it began to phase out the use of male corrections officers in the housing units for female prisoners.

Free Press

There are thousands of sexual abuse complaints flowing from every system where there are these authority figures in control at foster care, juvenile boot camps, and prisons.