NYC teen raped more than 30 times by female shrink known as ‘Big Foot' at juvie jail: lawsuit
A Staten Island teen was allegedly raped dozens of times by his female counselor — known as 'Big Foot' — at an upstate juvenile detention facility, while staffers joked about it, he claimed in a lawsuit.
The victim, now 21, was just 17 in 2021 when he was sent to Brookwood Youth Facility, about 45 minutes south of Albany, and first encountered associate psychologist Maya Hayes, who held frequent counseling sessions with him in her private office, according to the litigation.
The sexual abuse began about three months after the accuser, whose name is being withheld by The Post, arrived, the suit claims. It didn't end until he had been raped more than 30 times, he claimed.
Hayes, 47, allegedly 'groomed and manipulated [the victim] into trusting that what she was doing had some basis in legitimate care and treatment. It did not,' he said in court papers.
Hayes 'used and exploited her position of trust and authority . . . to her disgusting advantage and her own depraved benefit . . . to sexually abuse and exploit as many children as possible under the guise of performing routine and necessary counseling sessions,' the teen alleged.
Staff apparently knew what was going on.
'Are you doing things with Big Foot?' workers asked the teen, according to the Brooklyn Federal Court filing. 'We see you in there with Dr. Hayes doing nasty stuff,' they allegedly told him.
It's unclear why Hayes was called 'Big Foot.'
Hayes told the teen that she dreamed about him, and that she 'had a previous guy inside Brookwood' who resembled the victim and 'broke her heart,' the suit claimed.
The counselor even conned the victim's parents into sending $100 payments to her CashApp, ostensibly to pay for his food and hygiene products, according to the lawsuit
New York State Police arrested Hayes in April on 65 counts of criminal sexual act in the third degree and rape. She pleaded not guilty, and was released. The case is pending.
The teen is suing Hayes and a dozen other Brookwood staffers for unspecified damages for failing to stop the 'depraved' abuse.
'When I was at Brookwood I was sexually assaulted for months by my psychologist while youth development specialists and administration knew and did nothing to stop it,' the teen said in a statement.
'The responsibility lies with New York State employees who knew the sexual abuse was happening and enabled it,' said the teen's lawyer, Evan Brustein, who is representing four other victims who said they were abused by Hayes.
A lawyer for Hayes did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
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New York Post
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David Sweat reflects on 'Escape at Dannemora' 10 years later
A decade after he broke out of Clinton state prison in the infamous 'Escape at Dannemora' and led cops on a 23-day manhunt that riveted the nation, convicted killer David Sweat, in an exclusive jailhouse interview with The Post, confessed to his one regret. He should have picked a better partner in crime. 'If I hadn't done it with him, I'd probably still be out,' Sweat, 44, said of fellow escapee Richard Matt. Advertisement 8 David Sweat shared his one big regret with The Post during a visit at Mid-State Correctional Facility — nearly 10 years to the day after his infamous escape from Dannemora. AP With his wrists cuffed and a thick chain wrapped around his waist, the clean-shaven, bespectacled Sweat spoke publicly for the first time in eight years during a tearful, hour-long interview at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in upstate Marcy. The Post reporter, there for the 10th anniversary of the infamous June 6, 2015 escape, was his first visitor in three years, Sweat claimed. Advertisement 'If I'd known everything about him before, I probably would've done it alone,' Sweat said of the 49-year-old Matt. Sweat said he now believes Matt was as a confidential informant for the police back in the 1990s. Matt's 25-year to life sentence began in July 2008 after he was convicted of kidnapping, torturing and murdering 76-year-old William Rickerson, his former employer, in Niagara County in December 1997. 8 Sweat was recaptured on June 28, 2015, when he was shot twice in the back by a state trooper just south of the Canadian border. AP 'You can't trust someone like that . . . and that's worse than the drinking,' Sweat said. Advertisement He was referring to Matt's heavy boozing after the duo found bottles of liquor at an uninhabited cabin following their escape. 'I try not to live with regrets and look back, because it is what it is at this point,' Sweat continued in a soft voice. 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Mitchell has repeatedly claimed she and Sweat were never intimate — though she admitted to investigators she had oral sex with Matt and gave nude photos of herself to Matt to give to Sweat. Using tools smuggled in by a correction officer that Mitchell concealed in frozen hamburger meat, they cut through their cell's steel walls over the span of months. The night of the escape, they crawled nearly 500 feet through a pipe before coming to the surface at a manhole cover outside the prison walls. But Mitchell never met them with a getaway car as planned. Advertisement 8 Sweat slammed Ben Stiller's hit 2018 Netflix series 'Escape at Dannemora' — in which he is played by actor Paul Dano (left) and Matt is portrayed by Benicio del Toro (right) — as a 'Hollywood production.' /SHOWTIME The fugitives made a desperate dash toward to the Candian borden, hiking through dense woods and swamps, and squatting in abandoned cabins, as 1,500 cops hunted them. 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New York Post
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'Joyce isn't the prettiest girl in town, so I'm not sure what those guys were doing, but I guess you get pretty desperate in jail,' he added with a chuckle. One neighbor described the Mitchells as 'friendly' and helpful. Lyle has helped the neighbor, who gave his name as Jeff, clear his land. 'It's a lot of work clearing the lot, and that's what we talk about. Nothing personal,' said Jeff. As for Joyce, 'she waves when I see her coming out, but it's not that often.' 8 'Leave us alone. Get the f–k away from us and leave us alone,' Lyle barked at a Post reporter before slamming the door shut. Matthew Symons for NYP Despite the allegations against Joyce – which included a plot to kill Lyle, according to Sweat and investigators – Lyle welcomed his wife back with open arms. He is decidedly less tolerant of nosy journalists. 'Leave us alone. Get the f–k away from us and leave us alone,' he barked at a Post reporter before slamming the door shut. 'Stay the f–k away from us.'
Forbes
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FBI Warns iPhone And Android Users—Do Not Answer These Calls
You have been warned — do not take the call. Republished on June 7 with new warnings and more detail on potential threats. The FBI is warning smartphone users this week to be alert to nationwide attacks that frighten citizens into sending money. There's a nasty twist to this scam, and it's one where law enforcement is especially keen to stop Americans becoming victims. 'Scammers are spoofing FBI phone numbers nationwide,' the bureau says, 'impersonating government agents. Victims are tricked into thinking an arrest is imminent unless they send money.' If you receive such a call, the advice is simple and clear: 'The FBI will never call you demanding money to get out of criminal charges. It's a scam. Hang up and visit the FBI's to file a report.' The FBI is not alone in being spoofed in this way — this has become a powerful attack methodology and it's catching on fast. Last week I warned that multiple police forces across several states have issued the same warnings." New York State Police has told its citizens that 'an ongoing phone spoofing scam" is now "impersonating members of law enforcement or government agencies in an attempt to solicit sensitive personal information from individuals across New York State and beyond.' Those scammers 'demand personal information such as Social Security numbers and have threatened punitive action against recipients who refuse to comply.' Whether it's federal, state or local law enforcement, the advice is exactly the same. Do not take the calls. As soon as you hear the initial pitch from the scammer, hang up and file a report, either with your local police or with the FBI's national IC3 service. As with the FBI, New York State Police warns that attacks spoof legitimate phone numbers "to make it appear as if calls are coming from trusted agencies. These scams are designed to create confusion and fear, often leading victims to comply with demands or share information that can be used to commit further fraud.' While law enforcement impersonation scams continue to prompt warnings from various cities and states, the threat is now widening its net with multiple warnings as we head into the weekend. Attacks now include scammers impersonating bank investigators, fire department charity collections and even jury duty calls that tell citizens they must pay given failure to appear, to avoid more serious consequences. The bureau's advice though remains unchanged. 'There are many versions of the impersonation scam, and they all exploit intimidation tactics. Typically, scammers will use an urgent and aggressive tone, refusing to speak to or leave a message with anyone other than their targeted victim; and will urge victims not to tell anyone else, including family, friends, or financial institutions, about what is occurring.' The scammers' demands could be in various forms: 'Prepaid cards, wire transfers, and cash, sent by mail or inserted into cryptocurrency ATMs,' even handing cash or other valuables 'to a courier who arrives at their home.' You have been warned — this scam is nasty and preys on natural fears. Do not be afraid to hang up the phone. If you have any doubts, call back your local police force using a publicly available number. But all law enforcement agencies stress they never make such threats by phone or text — it's a scam every single time.
