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| Gay Prisoner Sues for Alleged Multiple Rapes By Fellow Inmates |
| By ABC News |
| Published: 04/26/2002 |
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The American Civil Liberties Union is filing a federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoner Roderick Johnson against several Texas prison officials he says ignored his pleas for protection against gangs who forced him into sexual slavery. Over an 18-month period between September 2000 and April 2002, Johnson, the complaint says, asked repeatedly for separate housing from the general prison population because his status as a homosexual man left him vulnerable to sexual assault. But officials at James V. Allred Unit in Iowa Park, Texas, denied Johnson's request for protection, and he became the sexual slave of rival Crip and Mexican gangs who, the complaint says, 'bought and sold Mr. Johnson as a chattel, raped and degraded him on a virtual daily basis, and threatened him with death if he resisted.' During the 18-month period Johnson appeared before Allred's classification committee - which determines whether to put endangered prisoners in protective custody - seven times and despite his rape allegations, his requests were denied each time. Johnson's lawyers say Texas prison officials discriminated against him because he is both black and gay. They refused to investigate his allegations and told him that he should be able to defend himself against unwanted sexual advances - or suffer the consequences. 'There's nothing a prisoner could really do [in situations like these],' said Margaret Winter, Johnson's attorney. 'They don't investigate prisoners' claims, nor do they provide rape kits. The prisoners are basically confronted aggressively with the words of the assailant. ... Prisoners are faced with the option of fight or f--k. Men have to really come out aggressive and be prepared to die fighting. If not, they're sexually enslaved.' Gary Johnson, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and several officials in Allred prison facility are named in Johnson's lawsuit. ABCNEWS.com was unable to reach prison officials, but they have argued that Johnson's rape claims were unfounded and they found no basis to place him in separate protective housing. Johnson, they have said, had no visible or life-threatening wounds and had a reputation for making false accusations. However, Winter argues that prison officials have no basis for their anticipated defense because they never investigated Johnson's complaints. 'They're attitude is basically that a gay black man couldn't possibly be a victim and that if he was repeatedly raped, then he allowed it to happen because he liked it,' Winter said. Johnson has been in prison since January 2000 for writing a $300 check while knowing that he had insufficient funds. His offense violated the terms of his parole for burglary 10 years ago, for which he never served time in prison. Winter said he could have been out of prison or close to release, but he has deliberately acted out so that he could be separated from the general population. Earlier this month, weeks after the ACLU wrote a letter to Gary Johnson complaining about Roderick Johnson's case, the prisoner was transferred from Allred to a safety protection unit. Johnson, Winter said, feels safe for the first time in months but fears he could be sent back into the general prison population in retaliation for his lawsuit. And in the general population, Johnson fears for his life because he suspects prison inmates have labeled him a 'snitch.' Johnson has been tested once for HIV since in prison and lives in constant fear that he has the virus as well as hepatitis and other diseases. |
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