Transgender Woman Moved to Illinois Women’s Prison

strawberry-hampton

   A transgender woman who described feeling like a “sex slave” while incarcerated in several men’s prisons across Illinois has been transferred to a women’s prison after a yearlong court fight. 27 year-old Deon “Strawberry” Hampton is serving 10 years for burglary.  Hampton was transferred to Logan Correctional Facility in Central Illinois after she filed lawsuits claiming abuse from guards in Pinckneyville and Menard Correctional facilities. In court documents, Hampton says that a she was coerced into phone sex with a lieutenant and was forced to engage in sex acts with a cellmate for the entertainment of corrections employees. Hampton also said staff members referred to her with slurs and derogatory terms like “it” and “he-she,” and that other inmates have groped her and threatened to rape and kill her. A federal judge ordered training on transgender issues last month for all corrections staff statewide in response to Hampton’s lawsuit. Officials have said plans for training were underway. State prison officials were required to re-evaluate Hampton’s previously denied request for transfer. The court also ordered that Hampton be permitted to attend a transgender support group, which she had also been denied.