On November 13, 2024, Levy Konigsberg, along with the Slater, Slater Schulman and Ben Crump Law, led a rally for justice to honor the one year anniversary of the filing of over 2,200 cases involving sexual abuse at New York women’s prisons and jails. Courageous survivors, the legal team and elected officials came together to demand justice and accountability from the State and City of New York who are responsible for the systematic, institutionalized sexual abuse that took place at these correctional facilities. Over 98 percent of the survivors in these cases are women. All of them were sexually abused by staff members that worked at these State and City prisons and jails, including the Rose M. Singer Center at Riker’s Island. Although a few of the staff member perpetrators have been criminally charged, most have not and it is believed that some of the perpetrators are still working for the State and/or the City. These thousands of cases involve sexual abuse that has continued for many decades and these filings were made possible by the passage of the Adult Survivors Act, a monumental law that allowed cases to be filed during a 1-year window and empowered thousands of survivors to pursue justice.
Attorney Anna Kull, partner at Levy Konigsberg, highlighted the necessity of having our State and City leaders held responsible for the failures that have allowed the sex abuse crisis to persist and delayed justice to the survivors who filed their cases one year ago. Attorney Kull, along with Adam Slater and Ben Crump, demanded that Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and Mayor Eric Adams take responsibility and end their silence over this growing scandal involving the deprivation of basic human rights at the hands of our state and city government.
The Adult Survivors Act law permitting the voices of survivors of prison abuse to be heard is a step in the direction of justice, but it alone is insufficient. The speakers at this rally, including courageous survivors this horrific sexual abuse, demanded a public commitment that declares the end of sexual violence in New York prisons. Such a commitment would entail providing justice to the thousands of survivors of sexual abuse in New York State and City prisons and jails and ensuring that those staff members who are responsible are held accountable. Attorney Kull called out the inaction of both State and City leaders, stating: “Your silence sends a message, and it’s not one of support.” In her closing message, Kull invoked Maya Angelou’s powerful words: “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” After the rally, the Governor, the Attorney General and the Mayor were all asked for comment, and none of them were willing to make any statements, which reinforces that the fight for justice of these survivors must, and will, continue.