BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Eight women filed lawsuits against the Erie County Sheriff's Office Wednesday alleging sexual abuse by corrections officers while in custody.
The abuse in the eight separate suits is alleged to have occurred at both the Erie County Correctional Facility and Erie County Holding Center, with dates ranging from 1996 through 2018.
"It highlights the systemic nature of what happened to these women," said attorney Adam P. Slater of Slater Slater Schulman. He represents each of the eight women.
The lawsuits are part of the Adult Survivors Act, which created a one-year lookback window for survivors of sexual assault that occurred when they were over the age of 18 to sue their abusers regardless of when it occurred.
They would have been legally precluded from filing the lawsuits based on the statute of limitations if it weren't for the ASA, according to Slater.
"It's everything to them," added Slater. "It gives them a chance to obtain a measure of justice, a measure of closure and hopefully move on with their lives."
The lawsuits describe alleged coercion by corrections officers. One of the incidents details an officer sexually assaulting a woman inside a medical unit. The officer threated to "ruin [her] time" if the inmate were to report the abuse and not comply with his sexual demands.
"It just goes to the culture of prisons and the failure to enact safeguards, and to overlook such deficiencies in the system as a whole," said Slater.
In 2020, the 7 News I-Team reported that the sheriff's office administration failed to report five alleged sex crimes involving jail guards and inmates to the State Commission of Correction as required by law.
A spokesperson for the Erie County Attorney's Office said they have not yet seen the lawsuits. The sheriff's office declined comment.
The lookback window for the Adult Survivors Act closes on November 24.
