NJ Women's Prison Plagued By Sex Abuse Of Inmates To Be Reformed

UNION, NJ — Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Hunterdon County will be completely reformed with new safety measures after officials found that the sexual abuse of prisoners was allowed to occur without consequence.

"Our civil rights investigation revealed systemic and long-standing deficiencies in training, supervision, and reporting at Edna Mahan, deficiencies that allowed the sexual abuse of prisoners to occur unabated," Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. "The state of New Jersey now has agreed to remediate these deficiencies by entering into this consent decree, and we look forward to continuing to work with the state and the Department of Corrections to ensure that no prisoner faces this kind of abuse in the future, whether at Edna Mahan or any other facility that might replace it."

The proposed consent decree between the Justice Department and New Jersey calls on the New Jersey Department of Corrections to implement a number of policies and practices to ensure that prisoners are protected from harm due to sexual abuse through appropriate prisoner supervision; effective and confidential methods for reporting of sexual abuse; and protections against retaliation for reporting sexual abuse.

Those changes at the women's prison in Union Township include:

• Improved measures to ensure staff are held accountable for misconduct.
• Requires greater transparency through public meetings with stakeholders, including former Edna Mahan prisoners, prisoner advocates, and family members of current Edna Mahan prisoners.
• Appoints an independent monitor who will oversee and assess the state's compliance with the terms of the proposed consent decree.

If New Jersey ends up closing Edna Mahan, the consent decree applies to any facility that replaces the prison.

"Every prisoner deserves to be safe from sexual assault and other forms of sexual abuse by staff, and to be protected from retaliation for reporting abuse," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Our agreement addresses the systemic issues that have plagued the Edna Mahan facility, ensures that women incarcerated there will receive the basic protections they are entitled to under the Constitution, and requires accountability through public transparency. We will keep working to protect the civil rights, safety and human dignity of all prisoners held inside our jails and prisons, including women prisoners, many of whom have suffered physical and sexual abuse before their incarceration."

An investigation into the women's prison was launched by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for District of New Jersey and the Civil Rights Division in April 2018.

In April 2020, the Department of Justice reported the prison was believed to have violated the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution by failing to protect prisoners from sexual abuse by staff.

The prison is also facing a lawsuit filed by an inmate, who was brutally beaten by multiple guards in January. Read More: Inmate Beaten By Guards Files Lawsuit Against NJ Prison: Report

Seven inmates were severely beaten during two forced cell extractions between Jan. 11 and Jan. 12. During the raid, one inmate was pepper-sprayed before five correctional officers entered her cell. She was then reportedly punched with a closed fist about 28 times in the face area while she was pressed against the cell wall. The woman had serious bodily injuries including a concussion and facial injuries. Read More: 3 Officers Charged After Women Inmates Beaten At NJ Prison

Since the events on Jan. 11, New Jersey Department of Corrections Commissioner Marcus O. Hicks announced his resignation on June 8. Read More: Head Of NJ Prison Resigns After Reports Of Women Inmates Beaten

A total of 10 correctional officers have also been charged in connection with the beatings and/or trying to cover it up. The charges range from assault to witness tampering to official misconduct. Read More: 4 More Officers Charged In Beating Of Women Inmates At NJ Prison

Anyone with information relevant to the Department's investigation of Edna Mahan are encouraged to contact the Department of Justice via email at Community.EdnaMahan@usdoj.gov or by phone at 833-341-4675.

Individuals can also report civil rights violations regarding this or other matters using the Civil Rights Division’s reporting portal, available at civilrights.justice.gov. To learn more about civil rights enforcement at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of New Jersey, additional information is available at justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement.

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