Benjamin Weiserfeb in The New York Times reports that six female prisoners filed a lawsuit Feb. 25 claiming sexual abuse of females inmates is persistent in New York prisons. Corrections officers are so unlikely to be punished, the suit claims, that they disregard the “zero tolerance” policy on such behavior. The lawsuit alleges that the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision lets forcible sexual intercourse and other forms of sexual misconduct, verbal threats, and harassment and voyeurism take place, and seeks class-action status on behalf of current and future inmates at the three all-women’s prisons operated by the department: the Bedford Hills, Taconic, and Albion correctional facilities. Thomas Mailey, a DOCCS spokeperson, said the agency “takes all allegations of sexual abuse seriously,” and “thoroughly investigates each claim expeditiously to ensure that appropriate action is taken against any perpetrator in violation of the law or agency rules.” Read the full story in The New York Times.