Former inmate who says transgender cellmate assaulted her wins federal case against WA prisons, attorney says

A former inmate said she was sexually assaulted by her cellmate at the women’s prison in Gig Harbor. She has now won her federal civil rights case against the state, according to her attorney.

Mozzy Clark said the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) put her in a cell with a transgender inmate who had been transferred from a men’s prison. She said that inmate harassed and assaulted her, and that corrections officers ignored her complaints.

Attorney David Pivtorak posted on X Monday that a unanimous federal jury in Tacoma awarded Clark $150,000 for violations of her constitutional rights.

Pivtorak said Clark’s negligence claims against DOC are scheduled for a second trial in state court in February.

It was not immediately clear which defendants the jury found liable or how the award breaks down. KIRO Newsradio has reached out to DOC, the Washington Attorney General’s Office and Clark’s attorney for comment.

This story will be updated.

What the lawsuit alleged

Clark filed suit in U.S. District Court in Tacoma in December 2024. KIRO 7 first reported the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, Clark was housed at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in early 2022. That’s when DOC assigned her a new cellmate who had been moved from a men’s prison. The lawsuit describes the cellmate as a “6 foot, 4 inch biological male” with a violent history.

Clark alleged the cellmate stalked her, threatened her, and made repeated sexual comments. She said the harassment escalated to sexual assault on multiple occasions.

She also alleged that officers laughed off her complaints and discouraged her from filing a formal one. According to the suit, the only option staff offered to get her away from the cellmate was suicide watch.

Clark was moved to her own cell several weeks after she filed a complaint under the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act. She has since been released from prison.

The suit named the state, DOC and several individual corrections officers and supervisors. It accused them of violating Clark’s constitutional rights, including the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

The cellmate’s transfer

The Daily Caller News Foundation obtained records showing the cellmate was denied a transfer to the women’s prison in November 2019 because of a history of violence against women. That request was approved in late 2021. According to the lawsuit, the alleged assaults began a few months later.

The cellmate has since been moved back to a men’s prison, the Daily Caller reported. Records it obtained also show a long history of violent infractions before the transfer.

DOC’s housing policy

Under DOC’s guide for transgender, intersex and non-binary people in custody, inmates are first housed based on biological sex. Officials can recommend a different placement after an inmate identifies as transgender. That process includes mental health and medical assessments.

When the lawsuit was filed, DOC said it does not comment on pending litigation but “takes all allegations of assault seriously.”

The verdict is the second major jury loss for the DOC in recent weeks. In late October, a King County jury awarded more than $52 million to formerly incarcerated people who contracted tuberculosis in state prisons.

Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here. 

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