Retaliation and Threats for Reporting Rape in Pennsylvania
I am an inmate at SCI-Huntingdon in Huntingdon, PA. I am writing you hoping you can somehow help or assist me. I was a victim of rape in this jail in August 2019. I reported this to PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) coordinator here at SCI Huntingdon, Lt. Grassmyer and Ms Pyle. I placed myself in solitary confinement to get away from my attacker who was my cellmate.
While in solitary confinement (RHU) I received threats of retaliation for filing the PREA report. My attacker is a well established gang member here at SCI Huntingdon with a lot of connections. I reported this to “security” and Lt. Grassmyer, I expressed how I was in fear for my safety due to the treats I received. In response I was given an ultimatum by Lt. Grassmyer, “go back to population, or get a misdconduct for refusing to go back to population.” Reluctantly, I went back to population, I didn’t want a misconduct when I see the parole board in Nov of this year. I wasn’t in population for 24 hours before receiving multiple threats of retaliation for filing report to PREA (Lt. Grassmyer).
Friends of mine were approaching me warning me of a hit (bounty) on my head to stab me or cut me up real good. I went straight to the block guard and told him about the hits on my head, since then, Sept 5 2019, I’ve been in solitary confinement. I am in steady fear for my life and I’m afraid that this jail, Lt. Grassmyer in particular is going to get me seriously hurt or even killed.
Under the PREA act, it is my right to be protected from retaliation. If they try to make me go back to general population I know for a fact that I will be stabbed or cut up or even killed. This prison is corrupt and I don’t trust anyone here and I need all the help I can get from the outside. So please, if there is anything, anything you can do to help me or assist me. I have almost 10 years incarcerated and I am not eligible for parole while in the RHU (solitary confinement), because it is a level 5 security, so even though I am eligible to go home, I can’t as long as they keep me here in RHU. I’m in a Catch 22 and this is not right. Please help me.
