NC female inmates allege sexual assaults in prison

RALEIGH -- Four female inmates say North Carolina's prisons subjected them and other prisoners to sexual violence and harassment amounting to cruel and unusual punishment. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Friday that the women filed a federal class-action lawsuit that says they were raped, groped, threatened and sexually humiliated. The women want their case to represent the interests of the state's 2,900 female prisoners. The lawsuit by North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services comes after the group forced the state to offer payouts to avoid legal action after at least seven sexual assaults on female inmates. State Correction Department officials would not talk about the lawsuit. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)