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As mentioned recently in the New York Times (U.S. Pays $4.2 Million to Victims of Jail Guard’s Long-Running Sex Abuse), Jaehyun Oh and Bradley Zimmerman represented three incarcerated clients who were sexually assaulted by Colin Akparanta, a former correction officer at the now-closed Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.
Akparanta was criminally indicted in 2019 and convicted of inmate sexual abuse in 2020.
On behalf of the three survivors, the sexual abuse lawsuit was not only brought against Akparanta but also against the United States Federal Government and its various officers who looked the other way while Akparanta was committing sexual abuse for years.
“He would take away their privileges; he would change their cell assignments, basically flaunting his power and telling them that he’s close with the warden, nothing will ever come out of it [...] This can only be allowed to go on for so long and so frequently in that kind of controlled environment by the complicity of other people,” Jaehyun Oh
The case was settled for $3,000,000 against the U.S. federal government.
Based on public filings, this is the largest settlement award nationwide against the Federal Bureau of Prisons in cases involving inmate sexual assault.
Many victims of staff-on-inmate sexual abuse do not take legal action, for various reasons, including fear of retaliation.
We hope our three courageous clients may inspire other survivors to consider taking action to seek accountability and justice.
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