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Oregonian investigative reporter Les Zaitz looked into widespread sexual abuse at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility for a story published in the paper on Sunday. His detailed report includes a number of alarming findings. He wrote:
Sex acts occurred all over the 108-acre prison campus — in cleaning closets, utility tunnels, toolsheds, woodlands and under a firetruck. Security weaknesses identified three years ago remain because prison managers couldn't get money to fix them.
Sexual contact between prison inmates and correctional staff is a felony under state law, and a number of Department of Corrections employees have been convicted of sexual misconduct and other offenses. The state has also settled several lawsuits with victims, paying out more than $1 million.
Do you have a connection to the Coffee Creek prison? Have you or someone close to you served time there or worked there? What do these reports of abuse mean to you?
GUESTS:
- Les Zaitz: Senior invetstigative reporter for The Oregonian
- Colette Peters: Director of the Oregon Department of Corrections
Tagged as: abuse · corrections · prison · sexual assault · women
Photo credit: Marc Soller / Creative Commons
