$500 million lawsuit alleges Michigan prison guards illegally recorded strip searches at women's facility
A new lawsuit filed against the Michigan Department of Corrections alleges that the department instructed guards to use their body cameras to record strip searches at the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Pittsfield Township, Michigan.
The $500 million lawsuit, filed on behalf of 20 women, named the MDOC, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the correctional facility and several correctional officers. The Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility is the state's only women's prison.
It alleges that between January 2025 and March 2025, roughly 500 women were illegally recorded naked during the searches, as well as while taking a shower and using the bathroom. Majority of the women, who are rape survivors, suffered psychological damage and humiliation from the alleged recordings, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims that MDOC officials were aware that they were violating Michigan law, which prohibits the recording or photographing of private parts. However, officials allegedly ignored warnings and allowed officers to record until they stopped on March 24.
"What these women continue to endure is nothing short of horrific. This case exposes a grotesque abuse of power that directly retraumatizes survivors of sexual assault," attorney Todd Flood said in a statement. "Despite multiple warnings about the policy's illegality from advocacy organizations and state legislators, MDOC officials have failed to fully halt these privacy violations."
CBS News Detroit has reached out to the governor's office and the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility for comment. We are waiting to hear back.
This comes as the department is facing another lawsuit involving former spokesperson Christopher Gautz. MDOC employee Lisa Gass alleges that Gautz sexually harassed her and coerced her into engaging in a sexual relationship to keep her job.
That lawsuit alleges that Gautz claimed that he and Gass were in a consensual relationship, and she was harassing him. He resigned amid an investigation.
Gautz's current employer, Byrum & Fisk Communications, confirmed that Gautz was placed on leave effective immediately and that the allegations against him were not disclosed to them.
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