Second Lexington FMC inmate files lawsuit accusing prison employee of rape

For the second time in recent weeks, a lawsuit has been filed accusing a Lexington Federal Medical Center employee of raping an inmate.

The latest lawsuit was filed a little more than a week after another inmate filed a lawsuit against former Lexington Federal Medical Center guard Christopher Brian Goodwin, accusing him of raping a female inmate, according to court records.

The second suit accuses Hosea Lee, a residential drug abuse program instructor at the Lexington Federal Medical Center, of raping a different female inmate. The bureau of prisons does not comment on pending litigation.

The woman, whose name was not included in the lawsuit, accuses Lee of giving her inappropriate attention during the drug abuse program class he taught. He went on to rape her three times, the lawsuit alleges.

The woman did not consent to sexual contact, and by the prison’s standards of conduct, the contact would have been nonconsensual since she is an inmate and Lee was an employee, according to the lawsuit.

The woman did not initially report what happened because she feared retaliation that would jeopardize possible early release from prison and delay her reunion with her children, according to the lawsuit. But because of the stress caused by what happened, she used Suboxone and failed a drug test.

She was later transferred to Federal Prison Camp, Alderson, in West Virginia, according to the lawsuit. The woman who filed the first lawsuit against Goodwin last month also was transferred to the West Virginia facility after she reported she’d been raped, according to court records.

Lee is no longer employed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, but the agency could not release whether he’d quit or been fired.

“We can share that the Bureau of Prisons is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all inmates in our population, our staff, and the public,” spokesman Scott Taylor said. “Humane treatment of the men and women in our custody is a top priority. Allegations of misconduct are thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action is taken if such allegations are proven true, including the possibility of referral for criminal prosecution when appropriate.”

No criminal charges have been filed against Lee or Goodwin in Fayette County, according to court records.

The team of attorneys representing the woman in the first lawsuit represents the woman who filed the second lawsuit. The attorneys plan to file a third lawsuit from another inmate with similar allegations involving the Lexington Federal Medical Center, said David Bryant, one of the attorneys representing the women.

“Sexual misconduct in our nation’s prisons is not limited to one bad actor or one specific facility,” Bryant said. “Female inmates are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse, as demonstrated by the complaints filed by L.C. and B.A. We intend to hold these bad actors responsible for the harm they have caused.”

Lawsuit accuses former Lexington federal prison guard of raping female inmate