Opinion ID: 3016387
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: Viewed in the light most favorable to Heggenmiller and Davis, the record evidence shows that Commissioner Terhune supervises EMCF Superintendent Blackwell, who supervises EMCF’s Director for Custody Operations, Dean Campbell, who in turn supervises a Captain Ochs. In December, 1998, Captain Ochs learned of Heggenmiller’s allegations of rape and other incidents of sexual assault perpetrated against her by Sella. Captain Ochs promptly reported the allegations up the chain of command, a formal investigation commenced, and Sella was ultimately fired and prosecuted. Later, in 2000, Director Campbell learned of Davis’ allegations of rape and other incidents of sexual assault perpetrated by Sella. Campbell promptly reported these allegations up the chain of command, a formal investigation commenced, and Sella was charged. In addition, a second guard, Regina Dozier – to whom Davis had first reported the assaults almost two years earlier, in 1998 – was investigated and fired for covering up Davis’ allegations. In 2000, Commissioner Terhune became aware of the allegations against Sella through the Special Investigation Division of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, which conducted the investigations of Sella and Dozier. Neither Heggenmiller nor Davis personally reported their assaults to either Blackwell or Terhune, although it is not clear whether they or any other inmate would have had opportunity to do so. Deposition testimony from Terhune confirms that he was aware of other incidents of sexual activity among EMCF guards and inmates, all of which occurred prior to the assaults of Heggenmiller and Davis. That testimony, however, shows that Terhune 4 recalled no specifics about any of those prior incidents. At all relevant times, EMCF had in place written policies and training manuals for new guards that prohibited sexual contact with inmates. For example, the “Basic Course for State Corrections Officers” references a New Jersey state law making it illegal to have “criminal/sexual contact” with inmates. See N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.3(a) (prohibiting undue familiarity with inmates); N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3b and 2C:14-2c(2) (prohibiting guard / inmate sexual relations). Instructional Unit 3.6 for the Basic Course for State Corrections Officers, entitled “Principles of Inmate Supervision and Discipline,” instructed guards to “[n]ever get on a personal level with an inmate and never obligate yourself to him/her.” Instructional Unit 3.7, entitled “Staff-Inmate Relations,” instructed guards to avoid “fraternization” with inmates. Instructional Unit 3.9, entitled “Effects of Dehumanization in the Correctional Setting,” cited inmate “[s]hower[ing] while being observed by custody staff and other inmates” as an example of the type of guard behavior that could cause inmates to feel dehumanized.3 Additionally, at all relevant times, EMCF administrators, including Blackwell, verbally instructed guards that they would be terminated, prosecuted, or both in the event of sexual contact with inmates. See Affidavit of Charlotte Blackwell at ¶ 4 (informing new guards of “no contact” policy at orientation or when assigned to a post). Additionally, pursuant to a consent decree applicable to all New Jersey prisons that had been in effect since 1991, EMCF was required to (1) make minimum privacy accommodations for female inmates and (2) institute formal training and policies for guards with respect to gender sensitivity and inmate privacy in areas such as locker rooms and showers. While EMCF acted with respect to 3 As to another section of the training manual, entitled “Supervision of Inmates by Employees of the Opposite Sex,” the Chief of Correctional Facility Training from 1993 to 1998, Sally Scheidermantel, testified that she had never seen the section before. 5 the former, by installing shower pegs and curtains, it did not act with respect to the latter. Instead, EMCF chose to rely on its pre-existing training and policy, set forth above, in conjunction with its practice of firing and prosecuting guards who violated that policy. Sella, the EMCF guard that raped and sexually assaulted inmates Heggenmiller and Davis, was not the first to be fired or prosecuted for improper contact with a female inmate. EMCF records and deposition testimony reveal as many as six “familiarity” or “contact” incidents between 1994 and 1998, all involving different guards, none of them Sella. At least five of these guards were fired and prosecuted for conduct ranging from sexual assault to consensual sexual contact with current and former inmates. Additionally, when viewed in the light most favorable to Appellants, deposition testimony from guards and their immediate supervisors, including Captain Ochs, shows the administrative hierarchy of EMCF knew of up to a total of ten “familiarity” or “contact” incidents over a period of time dating back to 1990. However, although all of these incidents involved improper interactions between male guards and female inmates, the record does not show that all of them were as serious as the rapes and assaults suffered by Heggenmiller and Davis. For example, at least some of the prior incidents involved consensual sexual contact among guards and females who were either former inmates or inmates that were soon to be released.4 4 In reverse chronological order, the six recorded incidents prior to the assaults of Heggenmiller and Davis are as follows. In spring 1998, guard Jeffrey Barr was fired for having sexual “contact” with an EMCF inmate. The investigation was forwarded to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office. Earlier in 1998, guard Robert Scannicchio was fired for vacationing with a former EMCF inmate and for becoming “unduly familiar” with her while she was still incarcerated at EMCF. In the summer of 1997, guard David Clappison admitted to having sexual relations with an EMCF inmate. He pled guilty to second degree sexual assault and was fired. Also in 1997, a Lieutenant Ruff allegedly engaged in sexual relations with an inmate. He apparently continues to be employed at EMCF. In late 1995, guard William Jimenez was fired for staying with an inmate at a hotel during a leave of absence. In late 1994, guard Kevin Brodie admitted to having a sexual relationship with an inmate and a parolee at EMCF. He was fired 6