NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A day after a 14th Rikers Island detainee died while in custody, another is claiming he was sexually assaulted by a correction officer while he was sick with COVID-19 in a new lawsuit.
Frederick Romano, 44, alleges he was sexually assaulted by Correction Officer Kenwyn Richards in December while he was suffering from COVID-19 and held in an infectious disease unit, according to The New York Daily News.
Richard allegedly entered the closed-off unit, despite quarantine rules limiting access, to ask Romano if he wanted a cigarette.
The lawsuit filed last week in the Bronx Supreme Court says "Richards then asked [Romano] if he ‘played’" and grabbed his hand and tried to place it on his crotch.
He reportedly tried to stop the assault but to no avail.
"Romano was shocked and very frightened," the lawsuit said. "He felt he was alone and trapped in the room with [Correction Officer] Richards and had no way of escaping this sexual assault."
Romano then allegedly ran out of the cell screaming, then Richards located him and warned him not to tell anyone about the alleged incident.
Hours later, Richard reportedly apologized to Romano, telling him he found him "very attractive" and that he "did not know what came over him," according to the lawsuit.
Although the Department of Correction told the Daily News it could not corroborate his allegation, Romano said in the lawsuit that he reported the incident to the DOC and they launched an investigation.
Romano was at Rikers for violating his parole by smoking marijuana and was previously convicted of criminal contempt. Richards reportedly continues to work at the beleaguered jail complex.
"This sexual assault never should have happened," said Jon Norinsberg, Romano’s attorney. "[The department] must be held accountable for hiring and retaining such an obvious sexual predator."
Several crises have unfolded at Rikers, including staffing shortages, detainee deaths and injuries and difficult housing conditions.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced new emergency actions last month after New York lawmakers detailed a “humanitarian crisis" while visiting the island.
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