Corrections Community

Regarding this story: http://www.wdt.net/article/20081115/NEWS05/311159952/Ex-worker+accused+of+having+sex+with+Gouverneur+inmates I'm having a discussion with some who claim that this can't be considered 'rape', as the inmates involved consented. My position is that inmates legally cannot consent to this activity, and I provided them with the applicable rape statute: "§ 130.25 Rape in the third degree. A person is guilty of rape in the third degree when: 1. He or she engages in sexual intercourse with another person who is incapable of consent by reason of some factor other than being less than seventeen years old; 2. Being twenty-one years old or more, he or she engages in sexual intercourse with another person less than seventeen years old; or 3. He or she engages in sexual intercourse with another person without such person's consent where such lack of consent is by reason of some factor other than incapacity to consent. Rape in the third degree is a class E felony." The first definition is what applies in this case. My father worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons for almost 30 years, and I know that inmates cannot consent to sexual activity with an employee. However, I can't find the law that states such. Am I wrong? If not, where could I find the statute or regulation? Thanks.

Ah, I see the link doesn't work. Here is part of the article: "Lisa A. Vaughn, 41, Carthage, was charged Friday with 16 counts each of third-degree rape, third-degree criminal sexual act and official misconduct and four counts of second-degree promoting prison contraband, state police investigators said. She was a laundry supervisor at the medium-security state prison. She is accused of having sexual intercourse and oral sex with four inmates, which apparently started sometime in 2006. She also is accused of sneaking food, cigarettes and postage stamps to inmates. Ms. Vaughn was arraigned in Town Court and sent to St. Lawrence County jail, Canton, on $5,000 cash or $10,000 bail bond. A state Department of Correctional Services spokeswoman said Ms. Vaughn transferred from her job at Gouverneur Correctional Facility to the state attorney general's office earlier this month. An attorney general spokesman couldn't confirm her work status Friday night. She has worked for DOCS since July 1998 and earned $37,469 in a stores clerk 2 position, corrections officials said. The state police and DOCS inspector general's office conducted the investigation. A confidential source tipped off authorities about the incidents, investigators said. More arrests were expected."

Check out the Prison rape Elemanation Act.

Thanks. Still having a difficult time finding a citation that prisoners can't consent to sexual relations with prison employees. But that is a good place to start looking.

The NIC page on the Prison Rape Elimination Act is http://www.nicic.gov/PREA

Here's a few other items:

State Criminal Laws Prohibiting Sexual Abuse of Offenders http://nicic.org/Downloads/PDF/Library/021770.pdf 

State Laws Prohibiting Sexual Misconduct with Individuals in Custody Check-List http://nicic.org/Downloads/PDF/Library/021634.pdf 

 

 

Could you apply the same statutes that cover "wards of the state"? That's a broader term than "prisoner" and may offer more material on consent.

There is a great text on the Washington College of Law's "An End to Silence" site called "Breaking the Code of Silence." You can find it in the employee section and at the end of the document you can find a state by state breakdown of the applicable statutes for staff on inmate sexual abuse.  There are multiple statutes that would govern this case and the definitions to explain their applicability are provided as well.  The link to the site is: www.wcl.american.edu/nic and you can download the text in PDF format.  Hope this helps!

Thank you all. I work nights and will have to read through these sources later after I've had some sleep. I'm getting rather frustrated with these people I'm debating as they keep insisting prisoners can't be 'raped' if they "go along" or otherwise don't refuse to engage in the activity. Common sense tells me there is an abuse of power in any case.

We, as Detention/Corrections Officers, are in positions of authority, operating "under the color of law."  There is no way that an inmate/prisoner can consent, even if he/she "started it." 

 

Exactly, Deana. And thanks to you all. I found the statute: http://www.justdetention.org/pdf/legalresources/New%20York%20130.05.pdf

 

The quest of whether "inmates can give consent" is irrelevant in most of the criminal statutes that forbid any type of sexual contact between inmate and staff because the statutes simply forbid any type of defined contact, regardless of consent. 

Since we are talking about criminal prosecutions, whether consent is an issue will depend on the wording of the state (or federal) criminal law under which the officer is being prosecuted.  I know that there are many who argue that inmates are incapable of giving consent to sexual contact but I don't know if courts have clearly addressed the question or if they answer it in the same way. 

 Bill Collins

Attorney at Law

Section 130.05 SEX OFFENSES; LACK OF CONSENT New York State Law S 130.05 Sex offenses; lack of consent. 1. Whether or not specifically stated, it is an element of every offense defined in this article, except the offense of consensual sodomy, that the sexual act was committed without consent of the victim. 2. Lack of consent results