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$11.5 Million Awarded in Suits Over Wisconsin Jailer’s Sexual Assaults
by Matt Clarke
On February 3, 2017, a jury in Madison, Wisconsin awarded two women $11.5 million in the first two of five federal lawsuits brought by former Polk County jail prisoners who were sexually abused by former guard Darryl Christensen. The awards came a year after Christensen, …
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More from this issue:
- Ninth Circuit Blocks Deportation of ICE Detainee Who Received $125,000 for County Jail Rape, by Derek Gilna
- Oregon Juvenile Prisoners Denied Law Libraries, Legal Assistance; Claims Not Heck-Barred
- Report Critical of BOP’s Solitary Confinement Policy for Mentally Ill Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- French Officials to Install Phones in 50,000 Prison Cells, by Monte McCoin
- Total Cost of Pretrial Detention Estimated at up to $140 Billion Annually
- $637,500 Settlement for Texas Jail Suicide
- California Jail Doctor Faces Medical Board Discipline for Negligent Care, by Monte McCoin
- North Carolina Brothers Settle Lawsuit Over 31 Years of Wrongful Imprisonment, by Matthew Clarke
- Prison Policy Initiative Report Addresses Jail Populations, by Derek Gilna
- California Billionaire Pushes States to Adopt “Marsy’s Law”, by Matthew Clarke
- Record Number of Florida Prisoners Died in 2016, 2017, by David Reutter
- Canada to Apologize, Pay $10.5 Million to Former Guantanamo Detainee, by Christopher Zoukis
- Prisoner Abuse at Parchman: Minimum Punishment and Impeded Investigations, by David Reutter
- Louisiana Prisons Present Immense Environmental Dangers, by Daniel Horowitz
- New York: Prison Disciplinary Witness Request Improperly Denied
- CoreCivic Prison in Tennessee Plagued with Problems, by David Reutter
- Texas: Federal Court Grants Injunction Against Discriminatory Money Bail System, by Derek Gilna
- Prisoner Suicides a Problem in Oklahoma, by Matthew Clarke
- New FAMM Report Offers Solutions for BOP Recidivism, by Derek Gilna
- Texas State Jail Guard Indicted for Leaking Video of Tear Gassing
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Prisoner’s Excessive Force Suit
- $11.5 Million Awarded in Suits Over Wisconsin Jailer’s Sexual Assaults, by Matthew Clarke
- Ohio Experiences Continued Problems with Aramark, by Christopher Zoukis
- Poor and Mentally Ill Languish in Mississippi Jails for Months or Years Awaiting Indictments, by David Reutter
- Lawsuit Alleges Inadequate BOP Mental Health Treatment in SMU, by David Reutter
- Missouri Supreme Court: Restitution Must be for Losses “Due to” Crime of Conviction
- Stipulation to Admit Video Created Error When Video Was Excluded at Trial
- Class Certified in Lawsuit Alleging Flaws in Illinois’ Prison Healthcare System
- Co-pays Deter Prisoners from Accessing Medical Care, by Christopher Zoukis
- Pennsylvania: $20,000 Settlement for Prisoner’s ADA Claim
- Virginia: Undocumented Immigrant Receives $12,000 Settlement for Overdetention, by David Reutter
- $7.9 Million Award Against New York County and Medical Contractor in Jail Suicide Case
- Estimated 10.35 Million Prisoners Worldwide, Three Million in Pre-trial Detention, by Derek Gilna
- Clock is Ticking on Understaffing in Florida’s Prison System, by David Reutter
- Eighth Circuit Upholds $1.25 Million Jury Award for Missouri Prisoner’s Death, by Matthew Clarke
- Oregon County Pays $1.1 Million for Death of Detainee Mocked by Guards
- Indiana Jail’s Overdetention of Pretrial Detainees Erroneously Denied Class-action Status
- Lawsuits Challenge Treatment of Pregnant Prisoners at Milwaukee County Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit: Washington Civil Rights Suit Not Tolled by State Presentment Statute, by Lonnie Burton
- Arkansas Conducts Four Executions in One Week Due to Expiring Lethal Injection Drugs, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Upholds Attorney’s 15-Year Sentence for Fake Bribery Scam
- TRO Requires Pennsylvania Jail to Provide Hormone Treatment
- Unable to Find Work, Some Former Prisoners Become Entrepreneurs, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Court Holds PLN Lawsuit Challenging ADX Censorship Not Moot, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit: No Summary Judgment for 11-Year ACL Surgery Denial
- HRDC Files Class-action Suit Over CDCR Debit Release Cards, by Derek Gilna
- Kentucky County Jail Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit for $75,000, by Derek Gilna
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Sexual Harassment Lawsuits, Settlements Rock Missouri Department of Corrections, by Derek Gilna
- News in Brief
- Prison Broke: The Missouri Department of Corrections Can’t Escape its Own Worst Habits, by Karen Dillon
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Eleventh Circuit Reinstates Alabama Prisoner’s Excessive Prison Violence Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Most of Relief Ordered in Class-Action Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutionally Inadequate Mental Health Care in Alabama Prisons, Oct. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Upholds Denial of Qualified Immunity to Jail Supervisors Who Ignored Detainee’s Cranial Abscesses, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Motion to Dismiss Some Defendants from Lawsuit Over Missouri Prisoner’s Suicide, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Grants Summary Judgment to Sheriff and County of Nebraska Jail Where Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoner, Oct. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Orders Texas to Admit Incompetent Jailed Defendants to Mental Health Facilities Within 21 Days, Oct. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- South Carolina Supreme Court Reverses Class Action Status in Prisoners’ Sexual Assault Lawsuit, Oct. 1, 2026. Sexual Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Class Certification, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Appealable Issues/Orders.
- Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity but Clarifies that 14th Amendment ‘Objective Reasonableness’ Is Standard of Review for Pretrial Detainee’s Claim of Sexual Abuse, Oct. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Qualified Immunity, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Eighth Circuit Grants Summary Judgment to Sheriff and County of Nebraska Jail Where Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoner, Oct. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise, Monell Liability.
- L.A. County Begins Making Nearly $5 Billion in Payouts to Survivors of Sex Abuse in Juvenile Detention, Sept. 1, 2026. Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Settlements, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Obstruction of Justice.
- $100,000 Paid to Five Prisoners Assaulted by Centurion Gynecologist at Florida Lockup, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Contractor Liability, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
- New Connecticut Law Changes PREA Standards, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion, Prison Rape Elimination Act, State Legislation.
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Consent Decrees, Class Actions.
- GAO Report Finds Rampant Sexual Abuse in Federal Prisons, Most Cases Unresolved, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Corrections Audits, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- Report Shows Pattern of Sexual Assaults in Santa Clara County Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Failure to Protect (General).

