Ex-prisoner sues WA state DOC, saying it didn’t protect her from sex assault by cellmate

A woman formerly incarcerated at the women’s prison in Gig Harbor recently filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging that corrections officers ignored her complaints about her cellmate harassing her and that officials did nothing to protect her from subsequent sexual assaults.

Mozzy Clark alleges that the other inmate verbally harassed her in 2022, and, when she complained to corrections officers, her concerns were laughed off. Her cellmate’s behavior escalated from there to sexual assault, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, which refers to Clark’s attacker, Christopher Williams, as a “fully intact biological male,” accuses the Washington Corrections Center for Women, where Clark and Williams were incarcerated, of having a policy of locking women in cells with men known to have a history of violence and sexual predation, ignoring or downplaying women’s complaints about the practice and discouraging them from filing complaints.

Williams, 35, is a convicted sex offender who transferred to the WCCW from a men’s prison after choosing to identify as a woman, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Dec. 27. Williams isn’t named as a defendant in the lawsuit. According to the DOC, Williams transferred to the WCCW from the Monroe Correctional Complex in November 2021.

Clark has since been released from the WCCW.

The Department of Corrections, which operates the WCCW, was named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with four named employees — two corrections officers, a corrections sergeant and a corrections lieutenant. Also identified as defendants were 10 unknown employees of the prison.

A DOC spokesperson, Chris Wright, said in an email that the DOC does not comment on pending litigation, but that the agency takes all allegations of assault seriously. He said if an incarcerated person claims to have been sexually harassed or assaulted, the alleged perpetrator and victim are separated, and depending on the claim, outside law enforcement might be contacted.

“The victim will be seen by mental health professionals, and if there is a claim of rape an individual will go out to the hospital for a rape kit,” Wright said in an email. “These cases will be referred for prosecution. All cases are reviewed for validity and safety.”

The Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has not received a referral for charges from law enforcement related to Williams and Clark, according to a spokesperson.

An attorney representing Clark, David Pivtorak, said in a news release that prison officials knowingly placed his client in harm’s way and disregarded her safety and basic human rights.

“This lawsuit seeks to hold the Department of Corrections accountable for policies that enabled the victimization of women in their custody,” Pivtorak said.

Pivtorak is the founder of a Los Angeles-based law firm, The Pivtorak Law Firm. He describes himself as a “lawyer for victims of wokeness & serious injury accidents” on his social media accounts.

The lawsuit claims that allowing “biological males” in a female prison violates the basic human rights of women and that prison officials knew that to be true.

“... Including the right to be safe from the risk of increased harm, and the right to privacy and dignity (by not being compelled to sleep, shower, or otherwise be naked in the presence of incarcerated men, or exposed to the naked bodies of incarcerated men), and the right to not be compelled, coerced, or pressured into using speech that reflects a belief that conflicts with biological reality,” the lawsuit states.

Roughly 2 percent of the population at the WCCW is transgender, according to Wright. He said there are 284 transgender people incarcerated in DOC’s 11 prisons statewide.

Wright said the DOC has developed a comprehensive housing-assignment process to determine where an incarcerated individual is housed. People who identify as transgender or non-binary participate in a thorough mental health assessment, according to Wright, as well as a healthcare assessment and facility evaluation.

“Several multidisciplinary teams must review all requests for transfer for a final placement determination,” Wright said. “Each situation is considered on a case-by-case basis, with a focus on safety both for the incarcerated individual and those who are housed at the facility.”

Before Williams moved into Clark’s cell, Williams was allegedly known to prison staff to have had previous “incidents of a sexual nature” with a prior cellmate, according to the lawsuit. It accuses a corrections lieutenant, a corrections sergeant and three unidentified prison employees of making the decision to place Williams in Clark’s cell.

Williams allegedly began to sexually victimize Clark “immediately” after being moved into the cell. According to the lawsuit, Williams described graphic sexual things he wanted to do to Clark and took out various sex toys at night, talking at length about wanting to use them on Clark. The toys were confiscated sometime in February 2022.

Clark slept on the bottom bunk, and the complaint alleges that Williams hovered menacingly over her bunk “with an erection while touching himself.” Clark’s complaints to a corrections officer were allegedly laughed off. After further complaints, the officer said she would inform a corrections sergeant, who allegedly later said she could not do anything for fear of retaliation from Williams.

Williams’ alleged behavior began to escalate, according to the lawsuit. Williams fondled Clark at night, putting a hand under her blanket to touch her legs and breasts, the lawsuit states. Another night, Williams allegedly touched Clark’s genitals while sitting on the floor.

Williams also allegedly followed Clark into the bathroom and showers, saying “depraved things” to her and threatening her with violence if she complained.

“During this time, Ms. Clark’s days were tormented by constant fear and anxiety about being locked in a cage with a much bigger, stronger person – a biologically intact man – who had a known history as a sexual predator,” the lawsuit states.

Clark eventually filed a Prison Rape Elimination Act complaint against Williams. Weeks later, Williams was removed from Clark’s cell.

The lawsuit claims Clark was a victim of cruel and unusual punishment, and that the DOC and staff members violated her constitutional rights. It requests that Clark receive compensatory and punitive damages in amounts to be determined at a jury trial for the violations of her state and federal constitutional and statutory rights, emotional distress, humiliation and anguish. It also requests payment for attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses.

This story was originally published January 2, 2025 at 5:00 AM.