State to pay $2M to settle sex assault lawsuit at women's prison

May 13—The state disregarded "an obvious and ongoing pattern and practice of sexual abuse of inmates by both male and female guards and employees at WCCC that goes back at least 25 years, " according to the complaint.

The state will pay $2 million and install more security cameras monitoring control centers at the Women's Community Correctional Center after a settlement was reached with six inmates who said they were sexually assaulted by guards between 2013 and 2016.

The settlement came more than six years after five women and the family of a sixth who died in 2018 of an apparent suicide sued the state and Eric G. Tanaka, a former Women's Community Correctional Center warden, in federal court for not protecting them from former adult corrections officers Brent Baumann, Chavon Freitas, Taofi Magalei Jr. and Gauta Vaa.

The women were seeking more than $7 million in damages for sexual assaults that occurred while they were incarcerated at the facility, in Kailua on Oahu's Windward side.

"Obviously, it was very traumatic for all of these women. They are very thrilled that the state is now going to be making the women's prison a priority and is going to get the cameras in there, " said Terrance M. Revere, an attorney for the women. "That was the first thing all of them said to me. Their first priority was getting those cameras in there."

The cameras will be installed by the end of the year, Revere said.

All four guards were fired, and Baumann and Vaa were prosecuted for second-degree sexual assault, a Class B felony. Both were found guilty, with Baumann receiving probation and Vaa sentenced to five years in prison in December 2020. Tanaka retired in late January after serving seven years as WCCC warden and 36 years of state employment.

"The Department of Public Safety took immediate action when the allegations were brought to the department's attention and agrees with the Attorney General in that this settlement was in the best interest of the victims, " Toni Schwartz, public information officer for the state Department of Public Safety, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a statement. "The department is committed to ensuring that sexual assaults of any kind will not be tolerated and has indeed prioritized the Women's Community Correctional Center for security improvements to include the addition of security cameras and system upgrades."

In November a federal jury found that the state and Tanaka were not liable for the assaults.

"I am pleased that we can put this case to rest, " said Attorney General Anne Lopez in a statement. "This settlement recognizes that these women were victims while in the state's custody and that they should receive a measure of justice for the harm the (adult corrections officers ) caused them."

The civil lawsuit alleged that the guards sexually assaulted the women at least 53 times, from 2013 to 2016, and that the guards gave them rewards such as candy, cigarettes, makeup and hair care products as well as access to mobile phones and social media, special privileges and illegal drugs, including methamphetamine.

The women feared retaliation from the guards if they refused them.

In one case a guard professed love for one of the victims and proposed marriage to the incarcerated woman, according to the complaint. The assaults took place in control rooms, staff bathrooms, a room off the kitchen, the gatehouse and other locations. Some of the interactions were filmed by the guards, according to the complaint.

The state disregarded "an obvious and ongoing pattern and practice of sexual abuse of inmates by both male and female guards and employees at WCCC that goes back at least 25 years, " according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs maintained that the state disregarded the safety of the victims and other WCCC inmates and failed to properly hire, train or supervise staff and the adult corrections officers. The policies and procedures in place at WCCC also allegedly created an unsafe and threatening environment for the women, the suit alleged.

In addition to Revere, the plaintiffs were represented by Richard E. Wilson and Myles S. Breiner.

"We agree with Attorney General Lopez that this is a very good day for the women, and the family of one who took her own life, " said Wilson in a statement. "The women and their families are all particularly pleased that as a direct result of their lawsuit, the state is making the installation of cameras a priority at WCCC."

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