Community Police & Fire
Former inmate at Gig Harbor prison sues DOC, alleging cellmate harassed and assaulted her
A former inmate at the Washington Corrections Center for Women is suing the state Department of Corrections and several of its employees, alleging that the department allowed her cellmate to harass and assault her at the Gig Harbor prison.
Lawyer David Pivtorak of Los Angeles filed the suit on behalf of Mozzy Clark in federal court in Tacoma on Dec. 27.
The lawsuit also alleges that leadership at the prison ignored Clark’s reports of harassment and discouraged her from filing a complaint.
Alleged incident occurred early in 2022
Several publications previously reported the lawsuit. The Department of Corrections declined comment to those publications, citing pending litigation.
The lawsuit alleges that Christopher Williams — whom the suit describes as “biological male” — harassed and assaulted Clark in January or February of 2022.
Pivtorak’s complaint calls Williams a “violent, convicted sexual predator” who previously served time at a men’s prison. The suit says Williams subsequently identified to DOC as a woman, leading to the inmate being transferred to Gig Harbor.
The suit asserts that Williams sexually assaulted Clark “multiple times.” It also says that corrections officers “laughed off” Clark’s complaints and “actively discouraged her from lodging an official complaint.”
DOC policy
The Department of Corrections’ policy on “transgender, intersex and/or non-binary individuals” sets out how DOC assigns housing for inmates who identify as transgender. The policy describes a process in which a multidisciplinary team recommends where to house an inmate who identifies as transgender.
The team decides “based on objective safety protocols and consideration of the individual’s desired housing assignment,” according to the policy.
Another multidisciplinary team at DOC headquarters reviews that recommendation. A DOC deputy secretary is responsible for the final decision.
“It is DOC’s position that a person’s right to safe and humane treatment does not change based on their gender identity,” the department wrote in a news item posted on its website in 2023.
Attorney
Clark has since been released from prison.
The lawsuit requests a jury trial and alleges that Clark’s rights were violated under the First, Fifth and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees.
Pivtorak is a conservative attorney whose LinkedIn page says he is “spurred by injustices Wokism inflicted on regular Americans.” He aims to “seek justice for those who have been harmed by the spread of Critical Race Theory, radical gender ideology, and the pall of orthodoxy,” according to his LinkedIn.