Female Jail Guards Sue Over Sexual Harassment In Cook County Jail

CHICAGO, IL — A group of jail guards in Cook County filed a federal lawsuit against the sheriff's office Friday, alleging that authorities have not taken enough steps to stop inmates at the county jail from masturbating and exposing themselves to female employees.

The proposed class-action suit was filed just two days after a group of female assistant public defenders made similar allegations about detainees behavior and the failure of Sheriff Tom Dart to do enough to stop it.

The female guards allege that they face traumatizing and abusive intimidation that creates a hostile workplace.

"The fear of retaliation is part of what makes the workplace so hostile to women and makes working there different if you're a woman than if you're a man," said Joshua Karsh, one of the lawyers for the guards.

According to the suit, their hostile work environment due to the sheriff's office's "acquiescence in extreme forms of sexual harassment by male detainees who: routinely expose their genitalia...brazenly masturbate in front of them...grope and grab them; subject them to sexually degrading insults and slurs; and threaten them with sexual violence."

One female correctional officer "was confronted by an entire tier of detainees with their penises thrust through the 'chuck holes' in their cell doors," the suit said.

The guards believe the harassment is getting worse, and many fear that it may escalate to the point of rape or death, the suit alleges.

"The safety and security of our staff and of those that work in the jail and courthouses is our number one priority," said Cara Smith, chief policy officer for the sheriff's office.

"We will continue to do all we can to ensure a safe environment and to protect our staff from the despicable and criminal conduct of detainees in our custody," she said.

Correctional officers are the vast majority of the victims of inmate abuse, as at least 222 people have been charged with public indecency in 2017 so far, Smith has said.

In response to the treatment, female correctional officers have been told by their superiors that putting up with aggressive sexual misconduct is "just part of the job," that sexual comments by detainees were a "compliment," that employees have to deal with such behavior "until [they] have a sex change," that "this is why [guards] get paid $70,000" and that they would be retaliated against if they tried to get legal assistance, the lawsuit claims.

Their lawyer, Karsh, said female jail guards filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission in February, which provided them with a notification of a right to sue in October.

"We want a court order to change their practice," he said. "They need to protect their workforce."

On top of a court order, the suit seeks to have a federal judge assign an independent third-party monitor to assess the effectiveness of any plan by the sheriff's office to stop the behavior and report back to the court. It also seems money damages for the officers.

Karsh said there have been similar lawsuits in other states, including Florida and California, leading to policy changes that have improved conditions.

"Other jurisdictions don't have this problem, they manage it," he said.

Watch Now: Female Jail Guards Sue Over Sexual Harassment

Read more: Female public defenders in Cook County say they have been targeted in a campaign of harassment by inmates for years

Read below the complete federal complaint (17 CV 8146) filed Nov. 10:

_{Top photo: Jeff Roberson | Associated Press}