Hundreds of former Rikers Island inmates filed lawsuits against the New York City Department of Correction under the Adult Survivor’s Act last year, a law that opened the state’s civil courts to sex abuse claims previously barred by the statute of limitations.
Most of the plaintiffs are women who say they were victims of sexual predators with badges --- jail officers who used their authority to force prisoners into performing sex acts.
But buried in that mountain of legal claims was a cluster of complaints against one correction officer.
He was known as “Officer Champagne.”
"Guards really were in on it. They would look out for each other. Just an entire culture that allowed these women to be sexually abused and raped for a very long time.”
Adam Slater, attorney for victims
Adam Slater, an attorney who represents some of the two dozen women now accusing Officer Champaign of rape or sexual abuse, said many of his clients never knew the alleged predator’s real name. But he believes those who ran Rikers Island back in the 1990s and 2000s knew about C.O. Champagne’s conduct and turned a blind eye.
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“Incredibly, we represent eighteen different women from all different walks of life that have come forward and essentially told us the same story about him,” Slater said. “Unfortunately, this particular case is just one example of what was going on there. This was going on rampantly and openly. Guards really were in on it. They would look out for each other. Just an entire culture that allowed these women to be sexually abused and raped for a very long time.”
Local
The cluster of lawsuits involving the officer known as “Champagne,” was first reported by Gothamist.
The publication spoke with a retired jail officer, now living in Pennsylvania, who confirmed he did use the nickname “Champagne.” But that retiree denied ever having inappropriate sexual contact with prisoners. He also argued to Gothamist that his work schedules – recorded in personnel files – didn’t always line up with the timeframes for sex crimes alleged in some of the lawsuits.
The I-Team was unable to reach that retiree for comment via phone or email.
In their first TV interview, Karen Klines and Tasha Beasley Carter, two of the women who say they were victims of “Officer Champagne,” told the NBC New York I-Team they want the Bronx District Attorney to file criminal charges against the man once known as “C.O. Champagne”. They both said they are willing to speak with prosecutors.
“You’re guilty and you know you’re guilty,” said Beasley Carter, referring to the retiree.
“He didn’t just do it to me, he did it to other women. Women I didn’t even know,” Klines said.
Patrice O’Shaughnessy, a spokesperson for the Bronx District Attorney, said the office could not make any specific comment about the former officer known as “Champagne,” but prosecutors now have a unit dedicated to speaking with any victims of Rikers Island sex crimes.
“We are vigorously pursuing the evidence and leads that are available,” O’Shaughnessy said. “In addition, we have been reviewing numerous Adult Survivors Act lawsuits to determine if the allegations fall within the statute of limitations and if criminal charges can be brought.”
In 2006, New York lifted its statute of limitations on Rape in the First Degree, a sexual offense that requires the perpetrator to use the threat of serious injury or death in order to sexually violate a victim.
According to Klines’ lawsuit, on various occasions, the man known as Champagne “threatened that her safety would be in jeopardy if she refused to comply with his sexual demands.”
Klines told the I-Team that after suffering through one of the alleged sexual assaults, she reported the officer known as “Champagne” to Rikers Island brass, but she says her complaint was ignored.
The I-Team inquired with the New York City Department of Correction about whether the man known as “Champagne” was ever investigated or disciplined for improper behavior during his jail career. The department declined to answer.
“We cannot comment on pending litigation,” wrote Annais Morales, the DOC Press Secretary. “The Department of Correction has a zero-tolerance policy toward all forms of sexual abuse and sexual harassment against any person who works, visits, or is in custody.”
Despite two dozen women all alleging very similar stories of sexual violence at the hands of the man known as “C.O. Champagne,” the union that represents New York City correction officers urged the public to withhold judgment. Benny Boscio, President of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, said the retiree in Pennsylvania has vigorously refuted the sex crime allegations against him by pointing out that his work schedule often failed to match up with the times and dates of the allegations.
“We stand by him 100% and urge the public not to rush to judgment,” Boscio said.
He also criticized the media for reporting on allegations of sex crimes against jail officers.
“It's truly disheartening to see how quickly the news media seizes upon unconfirmed allegations against Correction Officers made by former inmates from over 30 years ago, yet the documented 80+ inmate sexual assaults against Correction Officers and civilians all within just the past three years, receive little to no attention," Boscio said.
If even a small fraction of the sexual abuse lawsuits against Rikers Island result in city-funded payouts, taxpayers could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars.
Klines and Beasley Carter are seeking a combined $40 million in damages from New York City. They say the city jail system was supposed to be a place where they could put their lives back on track after getting caught up in the crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s. Instead, they say their incarceration derailed them even further.
“I went there because I was on crack cocaine and I wanted some help,” Klines said. “But instead, I wasn’t. I was raped.”
“They swept us in there and then gave us no healing and gave us nothing else but dirty slop sinks to perform sexual acts in,” Beasley Carter said. “Even life in addiction in the streets was better.”
