A male inmate who identified as a woman has been serving time in a women's prison for four years. In June, Christopher Scott Williams was transferred back to a men's prison, four years after allegedly sexually assaulting his female roommate in the women's prison.
Williams is serving a 28-year sentence for first-degree assault. His first request to transfer to a women's prison was denied in 2019 due to his history of violence against women. His transfer was later granted in 2021, after he allegedly assaulted a corrections officer while in the men's prison. Williams, a six-foot-four "fully intact biological male", was then transferred to the women's prison.
Mozzy Clark was forced to share a cell with the convicted sex offender at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. Prison officers failed to intervene.
“During the time Ms. Clark was locked in a cage with this man, he continually talked to her in a sexually explicit manner, touched his genitals luridly in front of her, threatened Plaintiff with sexual violence, and when prison officials did nothing about this behavior, went on to sexually assault her multiple times,” said the lawsuit filed by Clark.
After Clark filed a complaint through the Prison Rape Elimination Act, Williams was removed from her cell, but was still held in the same women's prison. The lawsuit alleges that Williams “continued to harass and intimidate Ms. Clark by following her around in the yard and staring at her in a menacing manner." Clark, now released, has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Corrections that lists five additional defendants from the prison.
“My experience at WCCW was a nightmare,” said Clark, according to the Washington Times. “I lived in constant fear, knowing that those who were supposed to protect me not only ignored my pleas for help but enabled my abuser. This cannot continue to happen to others.”
Her lawsuit against the Washington Department of Corrections alleges that the department violated her constitutional rights, specifically the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
“Prison officials knowingly placed my client in harm’s way, disregarding her safety and basic human rights,” said Los Angeles attorney David Pivtorak, who represents Clark. "This lawsuit seeks to hold the Department of Corrections accountable for policies that enabled the victimization of women in their custody."
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