The Bronx district attorney’s office has assembled a team of prosecutors to review claims of sexual assault made by former detainees on Rikers Island against jail staff in response to a Gothamist investigation.
The office, which has jurisdiction over Rikers, has also established a tip line for victims.
Gothamist analyzed more than 700 lawsuits filed by former detainees that describe an “endemic” culture of sexual abuse on the island — including groping, forced oral sex and rape — and accuse the city and the Department of Correction of failing to protect detainees in their custody. The Rikers-related allegations accounted for nearly 60% of lawsuits filed in New York City’s state supreme courts under the Adult Survivors Act, which created a one-year window to bring civil claims past the statute of limitations that closed last November.
The DA’s office said it does not plan to read through all 719 lawsuits, but will review allegations on a case-by-case basis if those who filed them are willing to cooperate.
The decision to review the cases is a reversal of the Bronx DA’s previous approach to the allegations. Spokesperson Patrice O’Shaughnessy told Gothamist in February that the office would only consider the cases if plaintiffs and their attorneys contacted the district attorney. At the time, she did not respond to inquiries about whether the office planned to conduct a comprehensive investigation.
Prosecutors are now taking a proactive approach, O’Shaughnessy said. She said the office has begun reaching out to lawyers who filed hundreds of lawsuits on behalf of former Rikers detainees.
“We are in contact with attorneys representing several hundred of the plaintiffs to assess their interest in speaking with our office,” O’Shaughnessy said.
Survivors of sexual assault at Rikers who filed lawsuits under the Adult Survivors Act are also encouraged to contact the DA.
The cases will be reviewed by prosecutors from two units that Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark launched in 2016 to investigate and prosecute crimes committed in the jail complex: the Public Integrity Bureau, which handles cases against jail employees accused of misconduct, and the Rikers Island Prosecution Bureau, which deals with cases against detainees and visitors.
O’Shaughnessy said both bureaus will work with sex crimes prosecutors to speak with anyone who alleged they were sexually abused by staff or other detainees at Rikers in a civil lawsuit and is interested in pursuing a criminal case. Therapy, access to rape victim advocates and other resources are also available through the office’s Crime Victims Assistance Bureau whether or not prosecutors bring criminal charges, she said.
Attorney Anna Kull of Levy Konigsberg, who filed hundreds of Adult Survivors Act lawsuits alleging sexual abuse against Rikers detainees, said the district attorney’s office recently contacted her law firm about jail staff accused of sexual abuse and assault.
“If they’re not brought to justice immediately, they will continue to harm other women in the same manner,” Kull said in an interview. “We need to be vigilant about it, and we need to be, obviously, as cooperative as possible. We need to think of the bigger picture here, and this is a good example of the bigger picture.”
The law firm Slater Slater Schulman, which brought nearly 500 Rikers-related lawsuits, said its attorneys have not yet been in contact with the Bronx DA’s office. In a statement, partner Adam Slater called for justice for survivors in any form possible.
“Due to the prolonged, egregious and blatantly ignored assaults committed over the course of decades, we would encourage law enforcement agencies to step in and investigate the widespread criminality that happened at this and other jail and prison facilities in New York state,” he said.
Gothamist’s initial report last month prompted a groundswell of promises from elected officials. Mayor Eric Adams called for a “thorough investigation” into the allegations and state lawmakers said they would work to pass new legislation extending the window for filing claims under the Adult Survivors Act. The chair of the City Council’s criminal justice committee also announced plans to hold a special hearing. The Department of Correction has said it is working with the law department to navigate the litigation and has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse.
Clarification: This story has been updated. After publication, the Bronx DA reached out with more information about how the office plans to review allegations of sexual assault at Rikers.
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