Women incarcerated in Indiana were allegedly raped, assaulted, and harassed after a jailer sold access to their housing area for $1,000.
The allegations have spurred multiple lawsuits, per a detailed report from Law & Crime, including one filed this week that alleges “not a single jail officer” intervened during the evening of Oct. 23 and the early hours of Oct. 24 of last year.
A (now former) corrections officer identified as David Lowe, per a prior lawsuit filed in June, is alleged to have provided male inmates with a key to the women’s area of the jail, which is also reported to be one of the sites used in the A&E reality show 60 Days In.
Per the report, at least 28 women have filed civil rights suits in connection with the alleged violence, which is said in documents from last month to have caused “horrific physical and psychological injuries” to the victims.
The newest suit, filed Monday, sees eight Jane Does taking action against multiple defendants including Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel, the aforementioned Lowe, and several other “unknown jail officers.” Per the suit, multiple systematic failures facilitated multiple males being given “free run” of the Clark County Jail for an extended period of time described as a “night of terror” for the victims.
On Oct. 23 and Oct. 24, the suit alleges, “numerous male detainees” used the keys they are accused of having purchased from Lowe to enter pods used for housing women at the jail, at which point they are accused of having “raped, assaulted, harassed, threatened, and intimated” multiple women.
WXIN reported this week that the former jailer—who is listed in online court records in the State of Indiana vs. David Lowe case as facing charges including official misconduct of a public servant, trafficking with an inmate, and aiding in escape—is set to begin trial this November.
Plaintiffs in the latest suit are also requesting a trial by jury. Complex has reached out to attorneys listed in related court documents for additional comment. This post may be updated.
