Several female inmates report harassment from Andrea Balcer, a biologically male inmate at Windham Correctional Center. Multiple women are suing the facility due to unresponsive prison officials and daily torment.
A 2021 law guaranteed the right to transgender people to be incarcerated in facilities that recognize their gender identity. Before the law was passed, County Sheriff Troy Morton raised concerns. “It’s our job to make sure that we operate safe and humane jails and prisons, and we want to make sure that we’re doing that equally for all. Simply putting this into law that requires, that it’s not may, that it’s a shall, housing based on gender identity alone could be dangerous to the individual, could be dangerous for other inmates and could be impactful to the staff as well,” Morton said during the 2021 public hearing.
Three more women joined the lawsuit filed against Maine Department of Corrections Commissioner Randy Liberty, Maine Correctional Center Warden Ben Beal, and the transgender inmate. Accusations include descriptions of Balcer forcibly holding down female inmates and kissing them, as well as threatening to rape and impregnate them.
The women who spoke against Balcer claim they have been punished and segregated for it. They allege Balcer threatened and harassed them while they slept, citing instances of Balcer stroking the women’s hair, standing naked by their bed, and repeatedly making sexual remarks. One woman recalls an instance in which Balcer told her, “If you don’t wake up, it’s because I smothered you with a pillow.” The women say prison officials failed to provide substantial aid or relief.
“The lawsuit is hopefully going to provide some relief and safety and dignity for female inmates,” the attorney representing the women, Cynthia Dill, said. The lawsuit faces scrutiny from major Democrats, such as Gov. Janet Mills. “Despite the Department of Justice’s claims, this is yet another politically motivated, predetermined investigation designed to target states that stand up to the Trump administration and its abuses,” a spokesperson for Mills wrote. (Related: Maine Ballot Initiative On School Sports Sex Rules Drafted )
