Pimpin’ At the Pen
By: William, Dollar Bill
Tags: Law Enforcement, Rape, Sexual Assault, Prison

Pimpin’ At the Pen

Photo by Gantas Vaičiulėnas from Pexels

The following was written some 3 years ago before I was sentenced to and served a year at a prison with an even worse reputation than the one I describe here.

As the day draws near for me to face my fate with the judge, I’ve done a fair amount of research into the Federal Bureau of Prisons over the past 4 years. And one thing I decided was that if possible, I wouldn’t serve time at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park (yes, there’s a federal lockup in Brooklyn). Call me crazy but when I go out in the yard, I want to see trees and country…and certainly not Brooklyn or New York Harbor.

Well…that general feeling was exponentially reinforced when I read the news yesterday that three corrections officers at the facility are alleged to have been sexually abusing female inmates in a serial fashion. Reliable sources have told me stories about women at Rikers Island blowing corrections officers for Lady Bic shavers and such. And every so often, stories hit the Internet about inmates and staff “interfacing.”

But that stuff — though misguided — was consensual. In the case of this recent story, it appears that the three officers were preying on women who didn’t speak English and who were most likely going to be deported after serving their sentences. So I guess the perpetrators figured they could get away with this sort of activity.

To the point: I can’t remember reading a more repulsive story in the genre. Of all the low down and dirty predation! I’m sure these guys have their side of the story…and maybe this is a case of women crying rape when expedient. Regardless, the fact remains that when a CO beds an inmate, he’s treading on thin ice. Nothing good can come from that!

At least two of the “boys” accused in this case have some previous issues. One got involved in a road rage incident on the FDR Drive during which he exited his car and punched a woman in the face twice. Another is a defendant in a bribery case, accused of smuggling cell phones and narcotics into the prison for payment to augment his income. Additionally, two of the three men charged operate in a supervisory capacity at the prison and are actually responsible for training employees not to sexually abuse inmates.

All in all, the facts paint a bleak and ugly picture of exactly what goes on inside the federal prison in Sunset Park. And a pretty picture it is not!

The identities, charges, and nationalities of the abused women have not been divulged to the press. I sincerely hope there are no K-girls in the mix. When I hear poor English skills, no visitors, and imminent deportation (which are facts reported about the case), I think Asians or South Americans. My guess is that at least some of the six women who came forward to testify against the officers were sex workers.

But I’ve not heard anything to that effect. And I hope I don’t. Working in a foreign country as a hooker…and then being incarcerated for the “crime”…and finally, forced to have sex with corrections officers, sounds like a rough row to ho (pardon the pun).

P.S. One day while down at suicide watch during my incarceration, a friendly officer came through to check on us — as officers always did on my shift. We got to know the guards pretty well. And if you acted like a human being, they would reciprocate in kind.

When I asked this particular officer “Hey! What ever happened to those guards at MDC who were forcing girls to give them blow jobs,” he engaged me in a 20-minute conversation about the stupidity of those guys — and how risky it is for a CO to do anything even remotely against the rules.

His take was that they got what they deserved — and that those three guys were an embarrassment to his profession. The only thing that slowed him down or cut him off was a call on the radio to report to another location. Otherwise, I think he would have spent the entire shift rapping to me about his job.

MCC was a very fucked up place (with no yard — let alone one where I could see the countryside) — and a prison which virtually every inmate who was transferred from MDC felt was inferior to the Brooklyn prison. But at least, most of our guards were human. And that was a good thing — because a lot of the inmates weren’t.

The lieutenant who led the charge caught a 25-year sentence when it was all over. Alas, there is some justice in this world.