Prison staff have even retaliated against females who reported the assaults, the inmate says.
At the Washington Corrections Center for Women, formerly the only exclusively female jail in Washington state, multiple biological male inmates who identify as women have sexually exploited female residents, according to a former inmate who spoke to National Review.
The former female inmate of many years, who chose to remain anonymous, described witnessing and hearing of multiple episodes of sexual assault by convicted transgender felons. The woman herself also says she was sexually assaulted by a transgender inmate.
One transgender inmate in particular — a biological male named Jonathan, who now goes by the name “Jazzy” — was accused of sexual assault in multiple complaints filed with prison staff by female inmates. In one case, a female inmate woke up in bed to find Jazzy with an obvious erection “touching her all over,” according to the anonymous former inmate. (The prison denies having any complaints on file that resemble those described by the inmate.)
The woman reported the incident to staff, but when they confronted Jazzy about the charge against him, he “turned on the waterworks,” the inmate said. Dodging responsibility, Jazzy called the woman he wronged “homophobic” and accused her of “gaslighting.”
The inmate said that in sexual misconduct proceedings, prison staff favor the transgender arrivals by default in order to avoid discrimination litigation. The facility therefore sheltered male predators, incentivizing them to commit more harm, she alleged. WCCW often dismissed females’ claims of sexual assault against transgender perpetrators, in some cases penalizing them, rather than the aggressor, for crying wolf on prison rape, the inmate said. Jazzy’s was no exception.
The woman Jazzy assaulted got in trouble for making a “fake PREA claim” and was subsequently sent to “segregation” per disciplinary protocol, the inmate said. Standing for “Prison Rape Elimination Act,” a falsified PREA claim is addressed by removing the problematic prisoner from the general population for their disruptive behavior, the inmate said. The female was separated but Jazzy didn’t receive so much as a reprimand, the inmate claimed. If found guilty at a subsequent hearing, prisoners can incur loss of “good time,” or forfeiture of a sentence reduction, and can have other privileges revoked, including special food packages not available at the prison commissary, union supply bundles with basic amenities, and gym access and recreation time.
Scott Fleming, a former corrections officer at WCCW, previously told National Review that some male offenders take advantage of the transgender transfer policy just so they can be housed with women. The inmate affirmed that some male criminals with questionable gender-dysphoria diagnoses manipulate the system, which errs on the side of accepting their claims.
For example, the inmate said that Jazzy confessed to her that he had not fully transitioned and still had functioning male genitalia. When she asked Jazzy how he had managed to keep his male anatomy a secret from WCCW, as every incoming inmate is supposed to undergo a standard “strip search” to ensure they’re not smuggling in contraband, Jazzy laughed snidely, the inmate said. He explained to her that he pretended to cry to get out of the examination, accusing the prison staff of prejudice and of wanting to “experiment with his parts,” the inmate recalled from their conversation. Transgender transfers were often “babied” and handled with kid gloves, the inmate claimed. Notably, she learned later that a nurse consoled and even cried with Jazzy after he protested the strip search.
When asked about the intake screening process for incoming transgender inmates, the Washington DOC insisted that it was a thorough process that prioritizes inmate safety.
“The DOC does not place individuals into the female or male facilities, simply because they have stated they are one gender or the other,” the DOC said in a prepared statement. “If an individual identifies as transgender or non-conforming, there is a lengthy mental health, health services and facility evaluation that must occur. Several multidisciplinary teams must review all requests, with the Headquarters Multidisciplinary team making a final placement determination.”
The sexual misconduct allegedly committed by the transgender transfers should not have come as a surprise to staff, the inmate said. Some of the men were overt in their attempts to seduce the women, but corrections officers rarely noticed, she said. Jazzy, for instance, primed the girl he eventually assaulted for weeks ahead of the assault, stroking fingers through her hair, flirting, and persistently making sexual advances until “finally she woke up to him molesting her,” the inmate said.
The inmate also corroborated the former prison guard Fleming’s claim that former female inmate Heather Trent was sexually abused by transgender woman Princess Zoee Marie Andromeda Love, formerly known as Hobby Bingham. Both the inmate and Fleming said Trent was mentally challenged and had the disposition of a “little girl.” The inmate told National Review that she had taken Trent under her protective wing for this reason.
Andromeda-Love often bragged around the prison that he would make a “million-dollar baby” with females at the facility, Fleming said, and the inmate confirmed. He often used hand signs indicating he would “make it rain,” both to inmates and correctional officers, referring to the large compensation package female inmates are entitled to if they are impregnated on prison premises, a sum he presumably hoped to collect.
There was at least one incident of sexual abuse by a female prisoner who identified as male at WCCW, according to the inmate. Trent was also allegedly raped by a transgender prisoner nicknamed “Ziggy,” a biological female who transitioned to a male when she was young, the inmate alleged. Within the prison system, any sexual intercourse is deemed non-consensual and therefore constitutes rape, according to non-profit Women’s Liberation Front.
The inmate once noticed Ziggy leaving a facility bathroom in a suspicious manner. When the inmate probed Ziggy about her business, Ziggy appeared guilty, she said. Running into the bathroom, she found Trent pulling up her pants, the inmate said. Trent allegedly told the inmate that she didn’t “want to do it” but that Ziggy told her she “loved” her and was going to marry her. Trent said that Ziggy warned her not to tell a corrections officer or else they couldn’t get married, according to the inmate.
The inmate told National Review that she was personally assaulted by a different male transgender inmate. The transgender inmate had been taken off hormones after being admitted into the prison, which made him sexually aggressive, according to the woman who spoke to National Review. During recreation hour when she was still a newcomer at the facility, the transgender inmate pinned her up against a wall and asked her if she would file a PREA claim if he made a move on her. During a subsequent interaction, the transgender inmate pinned her up against a wall again and asked, “What are you going to do about it?” The transgender inmate then stroked her body and she kneed the inmate in response. When the transgender inmate asked if she would report the assault, the inmate said “yes,” and then the transgender inmate cried and begged her not to, according to the inmate.
When asked for comment about its knowledge of these cases, the Washington DOC claimed none were registered in the system.
“The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) does not have a record of any open, pending or closed Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) case that meets the specific criteria for any of the allegations you have referenced,” a representative said.
While sexual exploitation was pervasive during her time at the Seattle women’s prison because of the unofficial transgender-transfer policy, already codified in California, the inmate said these cases are likely the tip of the iceberg. Many of the victims are accustomed to abuse by the time they’re incarcerated, making them less likely to report it. When assault does inevitably happen, the Washington state prison system keeps it in the dark to shield itself from lawsuits.
“It’s much greater than this,” the inmate lamented. “There are so many ongoing PREA issues with predatory individuals who are transgender male to female or female to male. A lot of women, they don’t even realize they’re victims because they were in prostitution or sexually abused throughout their lives. It’s normal to them. And the ones who do stand up for themselves get prosecuted or segregated.”