Transgender inmate's rape lawsuit against jail set for trial

Inmates at New Orleans Jail. (File Photo/Wikipedia)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A lawsuit in which a transgender inmate says she was raped after being locked up with a male prisoner last year in the newly opened New Orleans jail is expected to go to trial in June.

A federal judge set a June 19 date in a Wednesday order.

The lawsuit against jail officials was filed last month. It says the former inmate, who was born male but lives as a female, had just been transferred to the jail when a male armed robbery suspect raped her.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, says deputies at the jail lack proper training. It also criticizes a "failure to separate transgendered inmates from the general inmate population."

The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, which runs the jail, has declined comment on the lawsuit.

_

Copyright 2016 The Gayly - 10/27/2016 @ 6:37 a.m.