The result, according to the ACLU complaint, was devastating. But after leaving the intake unit he was placed in general population. Johnson informed the prison's staff of his sexual orientation during the intake process. In Texas and elsewhere, individuals identified with one or more of these vulnerable characteristics typically qualify for a prison classification known as ""safe keeping"" or ""protective custody."" Gangs and other prisoners often prey upon prisoners who are gay, as well as those who are young, small, mentally or physically disabled, first-time offenders, shy, perceived as weak, or possessing feminine characteristics, Winter said. Instead of protecting Johnson, the ACLU complaint charges, the committee members taunted him and called him a ""dirty tramp,"" and one said, ""There's no reason why Black punks can't fight if they don't want to fuck.""
""Our lawsuit shows that Texas prison officials think black men can't be victims and believe gay men always want sex - so they threw our client to the wolves.""Īccording to the ACLU complaint, Johnson appeared before the prison's all-white classification committee seven separate times asking to be placed in safe keeping from predatory prisoners. ""Prison officials knew that gangs made Roderick Johnson their sex slave and did nothing to help him,"" said Margaret Winter, Associate Director of the ACLU's National Prison Project. In a legal complaint that reads like a nightmare scenario from the graphic HBO prison drama ""Oz,"" the ACLU detailed the story of 33-year-old Navy veteran Roderick Johnson of Marshall, Texas, who for the last 18 months has been bought and sold by gangs, raped, abused, and degraded nearly every day. Roderick Johnson, a Navy veteran serving time for a non-violent crime, has been bought and sold by gangs, raped, abused, and degraded nearly every day. The victims “believed they would only be in New York for a few months to make tens of thousands of dollars before returning to their homeland and their families,” Homeland Security Investigations agent Melissa Pavlikowski wrote in an arrest warrant.Īcs, Berki and Vass ran a company called Never Sleep Inc.WASHINGTON-In a case that highlights prison systems' failure to protect vulnerable prisoners - and the role bias plays in who gets protected - the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit against Texas prison officials who permitted a gay African American man to be repeatedly raped and sold as a sexual slave for $5.
In 2012, the three victims, all in their early 20s, were flown to New York City to work in what they believed was a legal business in the United States. Another victim was “living with gypsies” as a male prostitute when he met Acs through Facebook. Acs and Berki are still awaiting trial.Īccording to authorities, the ringleaders met two victims in Hungary through a website called. “We will support him and make sure he enjoys the best possible life here,” said Nathan Earl, who heads Ark of Freedom.Īs for Vass, prosecutors say he and two other men, Gabor Acs and Viktor Berki, lured male victims from Hungary, where most lived in poverty.