Child Molester Sues County Over Being Raped By Cellmate In Jail
A child molester in Washington who is serving a 10-year sentence is suing the county after alleging he was raped while held in the Garfield County Jail in Pomeroy.
The complaint filed Tuesday in Walla Walla Superior Court says the man suffers anxiety and nightmares. He’s seeking an amount of money that would be determined at a trial in the civil rights lawsuit, KOMO News reports.
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The Union-Bulletin reports that the man was jailed in August 2011 for investigation of child rape when he was raped three times by cellmate John Markwell.
“People who are incarcerated are extremely vulnerable. Prison rape and jail rape are huge problem,” Lee Rousso, the plaintiff’s attorney, said in an interview on Wednesday. “From my perspective these are extremely serious allegations, and I hope that Garfield County will take them seriously.”
Markwell was convicted by a jury and, as a persistent offender with a history of violent sex crimes. He is serving a life sentence at the Washington State Penitentiary.
The plaintiff pleaded guilty to the rape of a child and molestation charges and is serving a 10-year sentence at the Monroe Correctional Center.
H/T: My BFF @ComgenKDT with thanks.
Rusty Shackleford August 14th, 2014 at 3:35 pm
As well he should. The offense he’s committed is irrelevant; he is a prisoner under the state’s care, and it is the state’s job to ensure he is kept safe. They failed that job, likely out of negligence born from apathy.
Khary A August 14th, 2014 at 3:41 pm
This is one of those situations where my want of righteous vengeance is tempered by my want of justice. Grudgingly I must agree with you Rusty, Prisons are not torture chambers or Oubliettes they are supposed to be for rehabilitation of our citizens. Those qualities must be upheld for everyone including this person.
crc3 August 14th, 2014 at 3:46 pm
Two wrongs don’t make a right….
R.J. Carter August 14th, 2014 at 3:55 pm
Conversely, three rights do make a left.
Anomaly 100 August 14th, 2014 at 4:02 pm
OMG, you sound like my brother again.
R.J. Carter August 14th, 2014 at 4:42 pm
You know I’m your brother from another mother — or 33rd cousin twice removed by marriage. Either or.
Anomaly 100 August 14th, 2014 at 5:02 pm
My brotha!
Anomaly 100 August 14th, 2014 at 5:02 pm
My brotha!
R.J. Carter August 14th, 2014 at 4:42 pm
You know I’m your brother from another mother — or 33rd cousin twice removed by marriage. Either or.
tiredoftea August 14th, 2014 at 4:58 pm
And, the money he wins from his lawsuit will go to his juvenile victim?
tiredoftea August 14th, 2014 at 4:58 pm
And, the money he wins from his lawsuit will go to his juvenile victim?
TheNeedle August 14th, 2014 at 5:51 pm
I am heartily sick of every story about a man going to jail being followed by someone snickering about how he’s going to get raped.
Rusty Shackleford August 15th, 2014 at 12:32 am
Note that they always use the passive voice when talking about that kind of thing too. Omits the agent of the action, so they don’t have to acknowledge that they are tacitly condoning rapists, so long as they’re raping “acceptable targets.”
A more complete version of this sentiment could be expressed like:
“I hope he gets raped in prison by rapists I endorse.“
Um Cara August 14th, 2014 at 6:55 pm
The casual acceptance of prison rape is a national shame. I hope he wins a ton of money (and then promptly loses it all to his victims).
How we treat our prisoners should be about who we are, not who THEY are.
whatthe46 August 15th, 2014 at 1:55 am
i understand that. but, seriously, he has the audacity to suggest the emotional and mental problems caused by his cellmate is the fault of the system not protecting him? what about his victim? sweet JESUS! and after the attorney gets his 3rd, then the family will have to endure a trial to talk about how it has emotionally and mentally distroyed their child and their family (re-victimizing the victim) in order to sue him. he was in jail with another sex offender, 2 peas in a pod. 2 violent criminals. what are we to expect from them? they don’t respect or accept anyone else to be unharmed. but will be dam**d, if it happens to them.
Rusty Shackleford August 15th, 2014 at 2:12 am
That is why they are in prison. To prevent them from doing it to anyone else. We’re not doing a very good job if they’re still doing it to each other, are we?
Prisons are not the Thunderdome. They don’t exist for your gladiatorial revenge fantasies.
whatthe46 August 15th, 2014 at 3:25 am
what makes you think its for my “gladiatorial revenge fantasy?” i am just telling you why it is the way it is in there. it’s because, it’s filled with violent people. what are you expecting? i’m not however, going to say i feel bad for this guy. i can’t. “To prevent them from doing it to anyone else.” and when the parole board release this guy for the rape of a child within 10 years, it won’t prevent him from victimizing another child. so, i am not going to critize the prison/jail system for not being capable of controlling out of control people. what do you suggest? if you keep them in a separate cells 23/7 for their own protection, then you will hear of another law suit because they don’t get any physical stimulation, they can’t socialize, or their civil rights are being violated in some form.
SkeeterVT August 17th, 2014 at 4:33 pm
“Prisons are not the Thunderdome. They don’t exist for your gladiatorial revenge fantasies.”
Tell that to the supporters of the death penalty.
Rusty Shackleford August 17th, 2014 at 10:59 pm
Which I am also staunchly opposed to, and would gladly tell them that.
SkeeterVT August 19th, 2014 at 10:45 am
Finally, something you and I can agree on.
Denise August 14th, 2014 at 9:21 pm
karma. I suggest stocking up on ky jelly.
Rusty Shackleford August 15th, 2014 at 2:14 am
“I support rapists and employing rape as punishment.”
-You (paraphrased
Hirightnow August 14th, 2014 at 11:18 pm
Prison is the punishment, not the PLACE for punishment.
Anyone who feels otherwise, please go to a country without laws and a Constitution.
fahvel August 15th, 2014 at 3:42 am
the guy may be a cretin but the state prison system is run by similar cretins – actually most big prisons are simple breeding grounds for the criminals and the supposed keepers.
whatthe46 August 15th, 2014 at 4:38 am
i asked you a question as well. what are they suppose to do? and your cussing me is quite mature by the way. often times the guards are involved, so who’s going to report what? if you do complain, then you get it (whatever “it” may be) even worse. they are most certainly there to punish, and definitely not there to rehabilitate. and most are exactly where they should be, no where near civilized society. like the 2 mentioned in the article. and like the manson’s of this world.
Rusty Shackleford August 15th, 2014 at 4:48 am
Control the populace. They literally control every aspect of these people’s lives, where they are every second of every day and what they can do, and you’re telling me they CAN’T control or monitor them?
They’re not even TRYING, likely because they share your viewpoint that prison rape is just an expected part of the punishment. Congratulations on endorsing rape as a punishment and condoning rapists. Good work there, buddy. Hope you’re real proud of that stance.
WAAAAAH the mean man wasn’t PG-13 in his discussion about prison rape! Think of the children!
Yet another failing of the system that you refuse to criticize. Thanks for helping my case that the whole prison-industrial complex needs to be dramatically overhauled.
whatthe46 August 15th, 2014 at 5:00 am
take your meds. lol
Rusty Shackleford August 15th, 2014 at 5:02 am
“Using profanity is immature and renders your argument invalid!” *blatant baseless ad hominem*
whatthe46 August 15th, 2014 at 5:04 am
rusty shackleford suits you splendidly
Rusty Shackleford August 15th, 2014 at 5:28 am
I should hope the joke of a name is apropos, seeing as how the entire point of the relative anonymity I maintain on this profile is to keep my political engagements separate from the rest of my less controversial online presence.
Been fun talking to someone who steadfastly refuses to reply to questions or acknowledge an opponent’s arguments. No wait, the other thing…tedious.
SkeeterVT August 15th, 2014 at 1:39 pm
People convicted of violent sex crimes — especially convicted rapists of children — are considered the “lowest of the low” in the prison inmate pecking order.
As far back as the mid-1970s, such prisoners — branded “short eyes” (which is also the title of a Tony Award-winning play and later feature film about how convicted pedophiles are treated by other inmates in prison) — were often targeted for rape by other inmates, clearly motivated by a desire for revenge.
Convicted child rapist-murderers Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy both ended up raped and murdered while in prison. It’s why most convicted child rapists are kept isolated from the rest of the prison population.
I’ll be brutally honest here: As the victim of a molestation myself when I was nine years old, I don’t feel any sympathy toward men who rape children. The convicted child rapist who was himself raped in a Washington state prison got what he deserved, as far as I’m concerne, and his lawsuit should be thrown out.
Rusty Shackleford August 16th, 2014 at 1:15 am
So despite your experiences, you DO support rapists, so long as they rape someone you deem an acceptable target. Gotcha.
SkeeterVT August 16th, 2014 at 11:57 pm
What would YOU do if your nine-year-old child was raped?
Rusty Shackleford August 17th, 2014 at 2:04 am
I would hope that our justice system would be more impartial and fair than those who are emotionally invested in the issue. I would hope that it treats criminals as the human beings they are, and would certainly not wish rape upon anyone, especially for the crime of rape, as the hypocrisy is obvious.