Second woman raped at Jackson County jail sues for security failures
A woman who was raped by a male inmate at the Jackson County Detention Center three years ago says in a new lawsuit that her assault was the result of lax security.
Another woman raped that same night in August of 2016 received a $275,000 settlement from the county in early 2017. Dontae Jefferson was in jail awaiting trial for murder when he sexually assaulted that woman, who was identified in the settlement documents only by the initials LM. Jefferson was charged and convicted in the sexual assault.
County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said Wednesday that, although she was convinced that the second woman also was raped, she did not bring charges because her assailant was assured of spending the rest of his life in prison due to his conviction of first-degree murder.
The Star does not typically identify victims of sexual assault and is not publishing the woman’s name.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court for the Western District of Missouri, names as defendants the county government, former corrections department director Joe Piccinini and the Kansas City government, which was then contracting with the county to hold people accused of municipal violations.
Both rape victims were in the jail for those lesser city offenses and were supposed to have been housed away from inmates like Jefferson, who were facing more serious state charges.
However, according to the lawsuit, the county failed to enforce that separation. The assault occurred when Jefferson was able to wander the halls of the jail for nearly two hours with two other inmates because they’d gained access to a set of keys belonging to a guard.
The suit alleges that Jefferson entered the cell occupied by the plaintiff about 4 a.m. She later heard the screams of another woman being raped.
The assaults led to multiple studies and investigations that helped propel the county toward the possible construction of a new jail.
The lawsuit was filed in Jackson County in late August, but was recently removed to federal court in Kansas City.
This story was originally published October 24, 2019 at 3:17 PM.
