Two women in New Jersey’s only women’s prison have both become pregnant after having sex with a transgender inmate.
The pregnant women, who have not been identified, are being held at Clinton’s embattled Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, which the New Jersey governor announced was closing last year.
Prison bosses said the sex in both cases was consensual.
It is unclear if the women had sex with the same transgender inmate or if they were two different inmates. Edna Mahan houses 27 transgender prisoners and a total of over 800 women. It’s also unclear how far along the two inmates are and if they plan to continue their respective pregnancies. An investigation has been launched.
The correctional facility began housing transgender women — including those who have yet to undergo gender reassignment surgery — last year.
This came as part of a settlement following a lawsuit filed by a trans woman and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Jersey.
ACLU legal director Jeanne LoCicero on Tuesday defended the policy, saying it ensures the rights of trans prisoners are not violated.
‘[It’s] consistent with New Jersey’s strict antidiscrimination laws, which prevent discrimination and harassment based on gender identity,” she told local news outlet NJ.com.
Edna Mahan, the Garden State’s only women’s prison, does not require transgender inmates to have relocation surgeries in order to be housed in the correctional facility.
Two women detained at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, New Jersey, became pregnant after having consensual sex with at least one transgender inmate, the Department of Corrections said. The correctional facility began housing inmates based on gender identity last year after reaching a settlement in a lawsuit filed by a trans woman and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Jersey
ACLU legal director Jeanne LoCicero on Tuesday defended the policy, saying it ensures the rights of non-compliant prisoners are not violated
DOC’s executive director of external relations, Dan Sperrazza, also told NJ.com that the pregnant women willingly engaged in sexual intercourse following multiple allegations of abuse in prison.
“While the DOC cannot comment on any specific disciplinary or housing decisions that may be considered in light of these events, the Department always reserves all options to ensure the health and safety of those in its care,” said Sperrazza.
In 2021, two Edna Mahan prisoners filed a lawsuit demanding the removal of the gender identity policy after allegedly being molested by transgender prisoners.
The women also claimed that the transgender inmates engaged in sexual activity with cisgender prisoners.
Critics of the ACLU settlement argue the measure adds further strain to a state penitentiary that has seen alarming reports of abuse and rape by guards over the past decade.
The union, which represents correctional officers at the facility, issued a statement condemning the policy allowing transgender women to be incarcerated at Edna Mahan.
“We opposed this policy change because we believed it would adversely affect the general population of female inmates housed at Edna Mahan, as well as create additional stress for our correctional officers assigned to that facility,” the union leader said to NJ.com.
In recent years, Edna Mahan has grappled with reports of widespread abuse and system failures. Ten prison guards are charged with an alleged assault on inmates, including a transgender woman, in January 2020
Edna Mahan began housing transgender inmates in July 2021 as a result of a lawsuit filed in 2019 by a transgender woman who said she was forced to live in men’s prisons for a year and a half.
The policy also provides better protections for transgender, intersex and non-binary people in state prisons, primarily through placement based on the gender they identify with rather than the gender assigned at birth.
Under the policy, detainees can provide information about their gender identity at any time during their detention.
Other safeguards include solitary confinement while final placement arrangements are made; be able to shower separately from other inmates; the right to participate in and appeal against placement decisions; and a ban on physical examinations to determine an inmate’s genital status.
Pat-down searches or strip searches of transgender women by male officers are prohibited. The policy will be maintained for at least a year, according to the ACLU.
Under the terms of the settlement, the woman, identified in court filings as Sonia Doe, also received $125,000 in compensatory damages and $45,000 in attorneys’ fees and will not be charged in connection with an assault in prison in May 2019.
“When I was forced to live in men’s prisons, I was afraid I wouldn’t get out alive. Those memories still haunt me,” Doe said in a statement last year.
“While I still have nightmares from that time, it is a relief to know that NJDOC made significant policy changes based on my experience so that no one should be subjected to the horrors I survived.”
Correctional Commissioner Marcus Hicks (left) resigned after a damning report on the prison. Gov. Phil Murphy (right) said he would close the prison shortly thereafter
In recent years, Edna Mahan has grappled with reports of widespread abuse and system failures.
Ten prison guards are charged with an alleged assault on inmates, including a transgender woman, in January 2020.
Several correctional officers at the prison have pleaded guilty to or been convicted of sexual abuse and misconduct in recent years, and last year a Justice Department report concluded that officers failed to take action to address rampant abuse at the facility to prevent, although they were aware of the systemic problems.
Corrections Commissioner Marcus Hicks resigned after the report. Gov. Phil Murphy said he would close the prison shortly thereafter.
The report noted that there were not enough cameras and that a mattress lay in a storage room without a surveillance camera.
Guards regularly gave detainees derogatory names, vividly commented on their appearance, and made comments about their sexual orientation.
The report also noted that if inmates reported abuse, the response could be retaliatory by subjecting inmates to body orifice scanners and then placing them in solitary confinement.
Footage released during the investigation showed fully armed prison guards beating female inmates, pepper-spraying them and dragging them from their cells.
One inmate was beaten 28 times, according to prosecutors.