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Transgender inmate sues N.Y. prison over sexual assault

Transgender inmate sues N.Y. prison over sexual assault

ALBANY, N.Y. — A transgender inmate has sued New York’s maximum-security Sullivan Correctional Facility and several staff, saying they were “deliberately indifferent” to her heightened risk for the sexual assault that happened last year.

The federal suit, filed by the Cardozo Civil Rights Clinic on behalf of Leslieann Manning, says she was attacked in an unmonitored classroom by an inmate with a history of violence.

The lawsuit seeking unspecified damages and any other relief the court determines.

A transgender woman in custody since 1991, Manning says she’s tried to have corrections officials acknowledge her gender identity, saying it makes her more vulnerable in a men’s prison.

She has been getting hormone therapy and allowed to shower privately.

Corrections officials declined immediate comment, and Manning is now in protective custody in another prison.

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