Hundreds of women who were once prisoners in New York jails are preparing to file lawsuits saying they were sexually abused by their guards, according to a law firm representing many of them.
Former prisoners are suing under a law passed by the state which opened a one-year window for adult victims of sexual abuse to seek compensation in cases decades old.
The legislation, the Adult Victims Act, was expected to result in litigation from former inmates in state prisons said to have a lengthy history of incidents of sexual abuse.
But lawyers representing claimants expressed surprise at how many had come forward, given the social stigma of identifying oneself as a former prisoner.
One firm, Slater Slater Schumann, which has previously brought suits against