By C1 Staff
CREST HILL, Ill. — A correctional officer with the Stateville Correctional Center has been reassigned after insisting that a stenographer who underwent a double mastectomy couldn’t be allowed into the facility unless she was wearing a bra.
Stephanie Battaglia, the stenographer, said she was dressed very conservatively in July when she arrived at the facility for an official meeting with a Stateville administrator, according to ABC News. She had a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery 10 years ago.
Battaglia says she cannot wear a bra due to nerve damage from the surgery. The officer only discovered that Battaglia was not wearing a bra after what Battaglia called an invasive search.
Both the officer and a supervisor denied Battaglia entrance to the facility after hearing her medical history, and even though she only needed access to a conference room that was away from any prisoners.
Illinois Department of Corrections visitation rules require all visitors to be “dressed appropriately” for a prison environment. The rules specifically state that female visitors must wear underwear and a bra.
Battaglia said she has been to the prison many times, dressed similarly, and never had a problem. This time she had no choice but to tell the attorney she was working for about her medical background.
“I was mortified that I was even talking about it,” she said. “So I left and went to the Louis Joliet Mall, which is about 15 minutes away and I purchased a sports bra.”
She then returned to the prison and endured another intense search before she was allowed in.
Battaglia has filed a complaint with the Illinois DOC and the Office of Executive Inspector General.
An Illinois DOC spokeswoman said the employee involved has been reassigned and that the department is now taking steps to “ensure staff receives additional training so we can better assist visitors that require special accommodations.”