REPORTS OF RAPE IN PRISON INCREASE

16% Rise In 4 Years A Sign Of Vigilance, State Argues; Some Call Stats
Falsely Low

AMARILLO - Garrett Cunningham refers to it only as "the incident," the five
or 1 minutes that forever changed the way he saw himself. Four years ago,
Mr. Cunningham said, a state corrections officer raped him near the showers
of a prison. Afterward, the inmate lay in bed, weeping. "When I was awake,
I thought about wanting to die, because I didn't want to live with this,"
said Mr. Cunningham, 33.

Since , at least 19 Texas prisoners, including Mr. Cunningham, have alleged
that they were raped or had had sexual contact with corrections officers,
according to state records. Allegations of inmate-on-inmate rape are even
more frequent and appear to be increasing. Overall, the number of reported
sexual assaults in Texas prisons has increased 16 percent, to 69 in 4 from
34 in .

Inmate advocates - who have launched a nationwide legal campaign against
assaults and the complacency that they say allows them to flourish - say
that the problem is greater than the statistics show, with the situation in
Texas acute.

"I really have become convinced over the last three years or so that Texas
is the prison-rape capital of the country," said Margaret Winter, a lawyer
who represents two inmates who sued the prison system. "When prisoners
report it, they are ignored, laughed at and often punished." State
officials attribute the increase in reported assaults to their vigilance in
punishing offenders.

Issue gains attention Though the issue is difficult for people to
acknowledge, , it's gaining more attention. Driving much of that: the case
of another former Texas inmate Roderick Johnson, who said prison officials
did nothing as gangs bought and sold him as a sex slave.

Mr. Johnson is suing seven prison administrators and staff members from the
Allred Unit in Iowa Park. The case, set for trial in July, will turn on the
question of whether prison officials violated the inmate's Eighth Amendment
right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. The suit also argues
that prison administrators refused to protect him because he is gay. Legal
experts say the case could open the door to several judgments against
prison officers or the state, though some emphasized that because jurors
are not often sympathetic to inmates, awards are typically low. Lawyers for
prison-rape victims say that neglect such as Mr. Johnson alleges is common
- that corrections officers often don't bother to investigate rape claims
and that some even regard the crime as a natural byproduct of incarceration.

Prison officials said they take rape allegations seriously. Besides an
indicator of their success reaching out to victims, they also note that the
number of allegations is low for a prison population of 151, inmates, more
than any other state.

Rape not tolerated "The message is hammered constantly that we do not
tolerate rape in Texas prisons," said Mike Viesca, a spokesman for the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "People are more comfortable
reporting these incidents because they know we take them seriously."

The vast majority of sexual assault allegations do not produce criminal
prosecutions, records show. Most are either rejected by prosecutors or
declined by grand juries. Some prison officials say inmates often lodge
false complaints in hopes of gaining favorable treatment. But some who have
studied prison rape believe that even the rising numbers don't capture its
prevalence.

"Recurrence is the great fear" if they report it, said Cindy
Struckman-Johnson, a University of South Dakota psychology professor who
has studied inmate rape incidents in Midwestern prisons. "They fear harm by
perpetrators, poor treatment by staff, and shame and embarrassment." Mr.
Cunningham, who went to prison on a probation violation, said all those
factors influenced his decision to keep quiet.

"He [the corrections officer] told me he'd have me sent to another prison,
where this would happen to me all the time from gang members," Mr.
Cunningham said. "That he could have me killed in there." The Dallas
Morning News generally does not identify victims of sexual assault. Mr.
Cunningham, who was released last year, said he wanted to tell his story
because he believes that the public should know about his experience.

Court records show that Mr. Cunningham wrote an anonymous letter to a
prison captain in , complaining that guard Michael Chaney groped offenders
during pat searches. Mr. Cunningham said he tried to tell other prison
supervisors, but they told him to keep quiet. He also said he complained
privately to a prison psychotherapist.

When Mr. Cunningham filed an official written complaint in 3 - three years
after the alleged incident - investigators declined to file charges, saying
it was too late.

At least three other inmates and former inmates reported that Mr. Chaney
raped them at the Luther Unit in Navasota.

Mr. Chaney, who resigned after the allegations were made, declined to be
interviewed. His lawyer, Frank Blazek, said the former officer denies the
allegations.

"He is not charged with having any sexual relationships, except with one
inmate," Mr. Blazek said. "He has adamantly denied any wrongdoing." Guard
faces 3 charges The former guard is charged with two counts of improper
sexual activity and one count of aggravated sexual assault. Prosecutors
said they intend to bring another sexual assault case, involving a former
inmate from Garland, to a grand jury this month.

In November 1, another inmate reported that Mr. Chaney had sexually
assaulted him. He was able to save semen on a handkerchief, and an analysis
later showed it belonged to Mr. Chaney, court records show. Had officials
at the Luther Unit listened to Mr. Cunningham's and other inmates'
complaints, future rapes could have been avoided, Ms. Winter said. "One
prisoner was lucky enough to smuggle DNA evidence out of the prison," said
Ms. Winter, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union's
National Prison Project. "But this man has had countless victims."
Prosecutors say the DNA set the inmate's complaint apart. Without such
evidence, jurors would have had questions.

"I don't doubt their commitment to ensuring that prison rape is
eradicated," Gina DeBottis, a prosecutor, whose federally funded office
handles prison prosecutions, said of Texas prison officials.

Mr. Chaney denied to investigators that he had sex with with the inmate who
produced the DNA evidence.And the guard's lawyer, Mr. Blazek, is
challenging the DNA, saying an analyst improperly tested it.

The inmate settled a civil suit against Mr. Chaney and the prison system
this month for $54,.

Mr. Cunningham said he, too, would like to be compensated for what he
endured. But he cannot sue the state because he never filed a formal
grievance, a step required under federal law.

Now living with friends in Amarillo, he works six days a week at a
fast-food restaurant. He cannot afford counseling, which he says the state
should pay for. And despite it all, he does not regret the way he handled
the assault, he said, because it might have saved his life.

"Had I done it different, I might not be sitting here right now," he said.
"I might have been shipped to another unit and mysteriously died. ... Or an
officer could find me dead in my cell."

In his spare time, Mr. Cunningham operates a business, Pen Friends and
Services, which provides prisoners contacts and resources for free books
and legal information.

"It's what I do to try to cope," Mr. Cunningham said. "It took a lot away
from me, as a man.

"I wear a mask on the outside, but I feel totally different on the inside."