Opinion ID: 2995601
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Sexual Assault

Text: After being arrested for robbery and assault in December 1996, Butera was detained in cellblock 2-I of the Marion County Jail (Jail). The parties stipulated that on January 6, 1997, detainees Brian Mitchell and James Eskridge sexually assaulted Butera in cellblock 2-I. Butera testified at his deposition that for several days before the assault, Mitchell and Eskridge had verbally threatened him. Further, he stated that on one occasion prior to January 6, Mitchell pulled down Butera’s pants in front of other detainees, slapped Butera’s buttocks, and exclaimed that Butera was going to be Mitchell’s bitch. Butera testified that early in the morning of January 6, he awoke to find a towel wrapped around his face and his arms and legs being pinned down. He testified that Mitchell and Eskridge punched him several times and that Mitchell then inserted his penis into Butera’s rectum. Butera stated that the assault lasted about ten minutes and that he could not scream out for help because of the towel that was wrapped around his face. Butera testified that he had a conversation with some correctional officers approximately one week before the assault, during which he indicated that he was having problems in the block and needed to be removed from cellblock 2-I./1 In addition, Butera’s mother Rena signed an affidavit averring that shortly before the assault, she spoke with a Jail employee over the telephone and told him that some detainees in cellblock 2-I had threatened to sexually assault Butera. Her affidavit did not identify the employee with whom she had spoken. On the evening of January 6, Butera phoned his mother and told her about the assault. Rena, in turn, informed Jail personnel that Butera had been assaulted, and the Jail immediately transferred Butera out of cellblock 2-I. After being moved to a different cellblock, Butera was threatened by another detainee who was Mitchell’s cousin. Butera reported this threat to Jail personnel and told them who had threatened him and what the specific threat was. Immediately thereafter, the Jail transferred him to yet another cellblock, where he remained until January 21, 1997.