Sexual Assaults At Otter Creek Prison: Reports Show Prison Problems
Otter Creek Correctional Center, a corporate for-profit women's prison in Eastern Kentucky has been plagued by allegations of sexual assaults by corrections officers, including allegations of prison staff raping inmates. According to recent state reports, which were also reported in the Louisville Courier-Journal, the facility, which is operated by Corrections Corporation of America, a large for-profit corporation, is chronically understaffed, leading to poor employee morale, security concerns, and other problems.
The monthly reports provide a glimpse into life inside the Otter Creek Correctional Center, where at least five workers have been charged with having sex with inmates in the past three years. Kentucky State Police are expected to present another case to a Floyd County grand jury this month.
“The facility continues to experience staff shortage(s), and (officers) have struggled,” state monitor Darrell Neace said in July's report.
Despite the recurring problems outlined in the reports, the state has not imposed staffing-level sanctions as allowed under its contract with Corrections Corporation of America, and is negotiating extending the company's contract.
