By Cary Aspinwall
Tulsa World
TULSA, Okla. — Female inmates were routinely subjected to sexual battery and harassment by employers through a work-release program at a Turley halfway house, according to a lawsuit filed against the private company operating the facility.
At least 20 women have made allegations against Oklahoma City-based Avalon Correctional Services, said an attorney who filed the negligence lawsuit in Tulsa District Court. The suit alleges Turley Residential Center staff “did not follow the procedures for operating the work-release program and further directed women to places of employment with supervisors who utilized their positions of authority to sexually exploit the women.”
Attorney J. Spencer Bryan, representing Jane Does 1-50 in the lawsuit filed last week against Avalon, said at least 20 women have made similar allegations so far, but they think additional victims may come forward.
Bryan said the sexual abuses happened with an employer in the food services industry, but he declined to name the employer due to an ongoing criminal investigation related to the complaints.
“Different women had different experiences, but sexual battery is the most common theme,” he said. “Those allegations generally involve unwanted and repeated touching and groping of the buttocks and breasts, pulling down clothing to expose body parts and unwanted kissing.”
Several of the women said the employer would “gloat that nobody would believe them because they’re inmates,” Bryan said.
When the women reported the abuses to Avalon staff, the staff would retaliate against them by issuing unfounded misconducts, accusing them of lying, refusing to contact law enforcement or discharging them from the facility, according to the lawsuit.
“Despite communicating these complaints to Avalon, nothing was being done,” Bryan said.
Brian Costello, president and COO of Avalon, said he couldn’t comment on the specific allegations contained in the lawsuit because he had not yet been served with the documents filed.
“I don’t know specifics of the individual claims, so it’s very difficult to know what we’re talking about,” Costello said. “We have been made aware of one instance with one employer that was investigated, that is the only instance that we have ever been made aware of.”
As soon as there is a hint that there may be a problem with a specific employer that Avalon contracts with, staff immediately remove the inmates and find them a job elsewhere, Costello said.
“We take those allegations seriously. We’re pretty happy with the program and our relationship” with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Costello said.
As part of its contract with DOC, Avalon administers a work-release program out of its Turley facility, a halfway house for women. The facility also offers job training and classes to prepare inmates to re-enter the workplace as they complete their jail or prison sentences.
Avalon is paid to house as many as 180 female offenders at Turley at a daily cost to taxpayers of $33.75 per offender, or $12,319 per year per offender, according to Department of Corrections annual reports. Avalon also operates two halfway houses for male offenders in Oklahoma - in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
The lawsuit alleges Avalon employees failed to supervise the employers participating in its work-release program and failed to “adequately investigate complaints of sexual abuse and sexual manipulation.” The company’s failure to report the sexual misconduct “was motivated by desire to maintain its contract with ODOC,” the suit claims.
Many of the Turley victims have been hesitant to speak out because they are still living there and concerned about retaliation, Bryan said.
“Many of these women are mothers and wives that just want to get back to their husbands and children,” he said.