While I was being unjustly punished in the hole1 at Muncy state prison2, I was sexually assaulted and abused by a guard sergeant. The guards had refused to issue underwear or a jumpsuit to me. The one I had, had no buttons. I wore it backwards to prevent my front from being exposed. A sergeant came into the cell. He shoved my head down to my knees. I have arthritis of the spine and responded by screaming and trying to flee to my cot. He grabbed my collar. While choking me, he again forced my head down to my knees. My back-end was facing him. I felt his hand on my buttocks. As I moved, I felt him insert his finger into my vagina. When I fell to the floor, he left. I was terrified, scared and traumatized. Finally, the next day, I was allowed to be seen in the hospital. I was also seen by the police. They took a report. While I was isolated back at the prison in the strip cell in psychological observation,3 several guards tried to intimidate me. They said that the sergeant wouldn't do such a thing. CO Lambert, Sergeant Winder's friend, refused to feed me. When he did feed me, he dropped the food on the floor. He told me to eat it from the floor. Other COs also refused to feed me; Moon, Kazar and Charles among them. Several times the staff transported me in a restraint chair. I was allowed to wear nothing but a smock. A mask was put over my face. They humiliated me in front of others, refused me sanitary pads so that I bled all over everything. I wasn't allowed to shower. It was all retaliation for my reporting the sexual assault. I'm incarcerated for forgery. The Northampton County, Pennsylvania judge, Judge Freedburg, gave me a 1 to 8 year sentence just for forgery. I've been at Muncy since August 28, 2006. I've suffered severe abuse while at Muncy women's prison. I'm 38 years-old, white, divorced and have 2 children. I never in my life experienced anything like this before. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy! The prison staff is very slimy, vindictive, retaliatory and spiteful. Plus, they are nothing but liars and cover each other's backs. The grievance system is a joke. Their idea of an investigation is asking the accused prison official what happened. The official's story is considered the truth. No witnesses are questioned and no video is viewed. The inmate's grievance is considered "frivolous." If we get more than 5 "frivolous" grievances in a month, they put us on "Grievance Restriction." Then they won't give me grievance forms at all. The policy states they aren't allowed to do that. They do it to me anyway. Many - I mean MANY of my grievances have been claimed by Troy Edwards4 to never have been received. I rewrite some of them up to 6 times and he claims he never got them. Back in September, I personally handed him 16 grievances. As of yet, I received nothing in response. The appeals I've sent are never answered, either. Problems he told me to take to him months ago were never resolved. In his requests to me he says: "by next week, soon. I'll see you..." etc. When I gave him those 16 grievances, he said he'd take care of them and give them back next week. It's been months, but nothing has been taken care of. When I first got to Muncy, I had surgery on my hand and foot. My doctor on the street (Dr. Bastides in Easton, Pennsylvania) said I needed weekly intense therapy. When I got to Muncy, their idea of physical therapy - which I didn't get until 3 months after I arrived - was to see a physical therapist for 10-15 minutes. She told me what to do and I must do it on my own. After that she told me to sign-up if I needed further help. When I signed up, I was refused to see the physical therapist again. In January, 2007 my wheelchair was taken from me. I had to painfully walk many places. In March, 2007 they completely took it from me altogether. I fell several times. I was told by the guards to hurry up or I'll get a misconduct. I was in severe pain. Other inmates had to help me walk. Theygot into trouble. In April, 2007 my cane was taken. Then, in April 2007, I was sent to the RHU where I was sexually assaulted. I was put into the hole because they put me in a cell with a roommate from hell, Tonya Pollard. I complained to Brian Boyer, Counselor McKee, CO5 Bird, CO Grossman, CO Yakubic, CO Redding and some others that she threated to beat me up, rape or kill my child. She smeared her body fluids all over the cell, stole a letter from my child which had his address on it. She threatened to set me up; and so forth. I told these COs and staff what she was doing. I even signed a contract to move in with someone else. Brian Boyer, the Unit Manager6 refused my contract when he moved lesbian girlfriends together. They left me in danger. The girl I was with smoked like a chimney. None of them did anything to help me. I told Grossman and Redding about the theft of my son's letter. They did nothing. They refused to search her and said, "well, we didn't see it." Later the girl was walking up and down the hall. She spit on me. When I told CO Bird. He did nothing. My roommate came into the cell saying, "I know how not to leave marks." I had no previous write-ups. I was recommended for parole and was scheduled for release in August. My roommate had had several misconducts for the same kinds of things that she was doing to me. It got to be too much. I told CO Bird that I wanted to kill myself. I asked to be sent to POC (psychiatric observation cell). I said it in order to get out of the cell and save my parole, because no one would help me. CO Bird said he didn't believe me and locked my door so that I couldn't get out. Tonya came over and hit me. I told Bird who asked twice, "she hit you?" When he left, she attacked me again. Again I reported it. She continued to attack me. Then we were both taken to the RHU. During Lieutenant Noonan's "investigation," he threatened that if I didn't agree to say that I'd hit her, he would write me up for assault and let her go. I was upset, crying and fearful that it would cost me my parole. I didn't do anything. I tried to get help. I had to take a write-up for fighting/assault. I got 90 days in the RHU. The hearing examiner is not impartial. She used to be the parenting counselor here at Muncy. I dropped out of a play she was staging and she hasn't forgiven me. Once in the RHU I received many other bogus write-ups. I was harassed, assaulted, picked on, etc., not to mention sexually assaulted. CO S. Bennett claimed I assaulted her with a jumpsuit. What I really did was put the jumpsuit outside my cell during dinner-time. I never touched her. That CO has mental problems. On another occasion, Sergeant Paul Hamus slammed the wicket7 door several time on my hands, punched me in the face and broke my $150 glasses. CO Starahon threw a dirty, wet rag in my face and slammed his big Plexiglas shield on my hands. CO Cooper and Sergeant Saar also slammed the wicket door on my hands and arms. They caused bruises and cuts and then refused to allow me to get medical help. When nurse Mench and other nurses came to do medication line, I told them about my injuries, but they refused to do anything. Even my medications were refused along with food and water. My water was shutoff for 5 to 6 days straight and recently I was refused food for 16 days straight. They told the medical department that it was me, that I refused to eat. They threatened to put a tube down my throat. Hearing that, the CDs who were starving me must have gotten scared. They started asking if I wanted food. Those COs who refused me food include Grossman, Blaker, Gower, Foulds, Yakubic, Gair, and Schaeffer. In addition, Sergeants Winder, Campbell, Leigy and Saar refused to feed me. They also refused to let me shower for 2 months. They put me on restrictions in retaliation for stupid things. For months I was refused to shave, refused a pen and now I'm being refused my property. I can't send my legal work or my grievances on time. In order for inmates to file legal actions we must first submit a grievance on the subject all the way through to final review. In going into my property, the staff discarded letters from my now deceased father and my family along with legal work, personal papers and even things from the commissary. For over a year Major Smith (who's now been promoted to deputy superintendent) was supposed to replace some of my things. I'm still waiting. When I was scheduled for a hearing on my appeal, the COs told the deputies who came to transport me to court that I was threatening to break out and kill them! They let me in the restraint chair8 for 18 hours straight in a freezing, unheated room until I couldn't feel my extremities. They refused to let me out to use the toilet until I had to go on myself. Then they refused to allow me to shower. One time they tried to force a metal bedpan under me while they had me stripped in the restraint chair. It cut and hurt me. Leaving a prisoner in a restraint chair for more than 2 hours can cause serious injury or death. They kept putting me back into the RHU with Sergeant Winder who sexually assaulted me. Now I'm confronted by him everyday. On one occasion I had a breakdown. They took off all my clothes, men did it. And men handled me naked and strapped me in the chair naked. It was for other inmates to see me. Lieutenant Boyer did that. I had a severe breakdown and was throwing up bile because they refused to feed me for days. They had to take me to the hospital even though they didn't want too. When I got back, I was immediately strapped into the chair again. Each time, male guards handled my naked body, CO Iams, Bennet's son, being one of them. My buttocks or breast would be exposed. They'd brush against me on purpose. Several times while I was strapped in the restraint chair CO Johnson threatened to stun me with the stun gun. He yanked the hair out of my head because it was tangled in the Velcro. He also threatened to knock my teeth out. Lieutenant Hummel ordered male COs to throw me into the shower room and undress me. When they threw me in, they intentionally banged my head so hard that I almost drown because they held my face to the floor while the water was pouring. Lieutenants Sipes, Craver left my face covered with a mask while I had an asthma attack and refused me use of my inhaler. I was 255 pounds when I got to Muncy. In less than a year I was down to 141. My hair has fallen out and I'm malnourished. The staff keeps promising to transfer me, but they are just pacifying me. I'm refused sanitary supplies and not given my psychiatric medications. I've been victimized and abused in many other ways and I'm not the only one. A lot of these male staff get walked off the campus when they get caught in sexual relations. And everyone here is related to everybody else. Please, anyone, help me. Please call or write to: Superintedent Marirosa Lamas SCI-Muncy Box 180 Muncy, PA 17756 570-546-3171 or Secretary Jeffrey Beard Box 598 Camp Hill, PA 17001 717-975-4859 Lobby for better treatment at Muncy for ALL the women and also to get me transferred out of here. FOOTNOTES 1The "RHU" or Restrictive Housing Unit is the area used for punishment, special tortures and abuses. It is commonly called the hole. 2Muncy is located in North-Central Pennsylvania. That's an area populated by extremely cruel far right-wing political Republicans, They are almost as bad as Lebanon County. 3The Psychological Observation Cell or "POC" is the place where the worst abuses occurs and where the women can most readily be stripped, humiliated and tortured. 4Edwards is the so-called Grievance Coordinator and Assistant to the Superintendent. His job is to make sure that nothing is ever improved and the prisoners are ignored. 5"CO" stands for "corrections officer," a prison guard. They are a slimy breed at the best of times. 6A so-called Unit Manager, is the person below a superintendent who supposedly manages each block of cells. In reality it's a person who does little or nothing, the tits on a boar hog. 7The wicket is the small locked opening on each door in the prison hole. It's shuttered with a fold-down door through which meals and supplies are passed. 8A "restraint chair" is a kind of torture device used in the Pennsylvania prisons. The victim is strapped tightly in the chair and held for hours. It's such a nasty abuse that it was adopted for torture by American forces in Iraq and Guantanamo. When used properly it will drive victims completely insane. The Muncy staff loves it!