FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2025
Systemic Failures Caused Sexual Abuse of Females at York Correctional Institution; Investigative Report by Disability Rights Connecticut Reveals Continued Abuse, Multiple Violations of Federal and State Law and Department of Correction Policy
Detailed 4-Year Investigation Calls for Immediate Legislative and Department action to Prevent Sexual Abuse, End Violations of Policy and Law
Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) is calling on the Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) and the state legislature to take immediate action after a comprehensive, detailed, and alarming 4-year investigation conducted by DRCT into sexual abuse of women incarcerated at York Correctional Institution (YCI), the state’s facility for female prisoners, located in Niantic.
The extensive 26-page investigative report, released today, determined that “the DOC engages in systemic practices which violate the Constitutional rights of women with serious mental illness incarcerated at the York Correctional Institution, and the DOC … has failed to address these issues,” concluding that “YCI’s systemic failures have, and continue to, foster unsafe conditions.”
“Without correction by and oversight of the DOC,” the DRCT investigative report concluded, “these systemic issues will likely continue, resulting in more individuals being sexually abused.”
The investigation began in November 2021 after DRCT received several complaints. During the investigation, DRCT confirmed that several staff members sexually abused prisoners at YCI. The investigation revealed that:
three Correctional Officers are currently being investigated,
four Correctional Officers were convicted of sexual assault related charges,
two others were charged but applied for and completed pretrial diversionary programs,
two others were investigated by the Connecticut State Police but never charged and subsequently resigned, and
DOC terminated the employment of one additional officer.
The DRCT investigation included interviews, record and policy reviews, and 13 in-person visits to YCI. The records reviewed included over 150 YCI incident reports, from 2019 to 2025, as well as various training materials, analysis reports, unit directives, Security Division investigations, records from other agencies, and staff disciplinary reviews and determinations.
The DRCT report, which includes a series of recommendations, concluded that “significant deficiencies” exist in how the DOC implements its mandates under the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA); enforces DOC policy; monitors its facilities for safety concerns to prevent sexual abuse occurences; investigates sexual abuse allegations; and provides victims with mental health treatment.
The report outlines sexual abuse allegations and subsequent investigations related to seven incarcerated individuals, including one who was the victim of sexual abuse by multiple DOC staff members. It also outlines a series of systemic failures, including:
Failure to remediate blind spots throughout YCI where sexual abuse occurs,
Failure to employ protective measures to safeguard vulnerable individuals, and
Failure to conduct timely and comprehensive sexual abuse incident reviews.
On six occasions, incident reviews of allegations of correctional staff sexual abuse of incarcerated females were completed more than 30 days after an incident occurred, two of which were completed almost 7 months and more than 3 1/2 years later, respectively. An additional 11 incidents lacked incident reviews. Five incidents that occurred in blind spots did not include recommendations to remediate those blind spots.
The report states that “[t]he DOC has known about current blind spots in the laundry room at YCI since at least 2016 yet failed to remediate these blind spots where sexual activity continues to occur.” A proposal in 2023 to install more than 60 cameras that would be needed to eliminate blind spots has yet to be acted upon, the investigation found – to date, only two new cameras and one replacement have been installed. The proposal also recommended the replacement of 10 additional cameras.
In one instance, in an investigation following concerns raised by a prisoner’s family, the DOC noted that there were blind spots around the officer’s bubble in North Dorm, making it nearly impossible to see anything. The family had alleged that two correctional officers were engaging in sexually abusive and retaliatory behavior toward two prisoners.
Call for Action by State Legislature and the DOC
DRCT is calling on the state legislature to increase the mandatory penalty for convictions of sexual assault in the second degree from nine months to two years, and revise current statutory language to include DOC employees and contractors that do not have supervisory or disciplinary authority over incarcerated individuals for both sexual assault in the second and fourth degrees.
The DRCT report recommends the DOC take steps including a requirement that the DOC issue quarterly reports on all sexual abuse and/or harrassment allegations, to include recommentations made at the conclusion of each investigation, with completion dates of those recommendations. In addition, the report calls on the DOC to implement all of the 2023 recommendations in a DOC proposal for blind spot improvements at YCI within 90 days.
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About Disability Rights Connecticut
Disability Rights Connecticut’s mission is to advocate, educate, investigate, and pursue legal, administrative, and other appropriate remedies to advance and protect the civil rights of individuals with disabilities to participate equally and fully in all facets of community life in Connecticut. Disability Rights Connecticut provides legal advocacy and rights protection to people of all ages with disabilities.
DRCT focuses its legal and other advocacy on a wide range of disability justice issues for Connecticut residents with disabilities. DRCT’s services include advocating the rights of individuals with disabilities on issues including abuse, neglect, discrimination, community integration, forensic mental health, voting, and other rights protection issues. DRCT is Connecticut’s federally mandated “Protection and Advocacy System.”
Media Contact:
Bernard Kavaler, for Disability Rights Connecticut, 860-729-3021, bernard@express-strategies.com
