Public defenders pushed to breaking point by masturbating inmates

Public defenders pushed to breaking point by masturbating inmates

Working in a public defender’s office is never easy, but employees of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office have had to deal with worse than most over the last two years. Reportedly, female staffers have been exposed to masturbating inmates while walking to and from holding cells as well as at the jail and courthouse lockups, and it seems like there is almost nothing they can do to stop it.

Finally, it seems, the staff has had enough, and in a blunt letter to Chief Judge Timothy Evans, one public defender named Amy Campanelli spoke out against the behavior, demanding changes or she and her staff will not be visiting the jail any longer beginning Nov. 6th.

Although the letter has not been shared publicly, Campanelli has divulged that, unless Evans and Sheriff Tim Dart are able to come up with a solution to this indecent exposure issue, she and her staff do not feel safe doing their jobs.

Campanelli says that while these incidents have always occurred during her tenure as a public defender, the increase in indecent exposure has become “pervasive” and happens nearly every day. Although there have been many efforts led by Sheriff Dart since October of 2015 to stamp out this behavior, no solution has been enough to deter inmates for long.

It’s no surprise, says Cara Smith, former jail personnel and policy director for Sheriff Dart, that this has become more of an issue. “This is something that happens in [these] environments, period.” She says that she and her team are willing to do whatever they need to protect female staffers from indecent exposure, but that there is no “silver-bullet answer” that will stop this behavior completely. In fact, Smith has experienced this phenomenon herself, so she knows how pervasive it is.

Other jails do not seem to have the same problem with indecent exposure and the state Public Defender’s Association acknowledged that an unusually-high number of these charges are coming from Cook County Jail. It may be due to the culture of the jail, which encourages this disgusting and immature behavior amongst its inmates, but as of yet the Sheriff’s Office has been unable to determine exactly why this behavior is so common.

In a proposed solution, the sheriff supported legislation that would’ve created stricter penalties for this type of behavior from inmates while in jail and prison, turning a misdemeanor into a felony offense. They would have also been required to register as a sex offender for the rest of their life, creating a “tremendous deterrent” to indecent exposure from inmates.

However, the public defender objected. While stricter penalties may sound like an effective way to stop this behavior, Campanelli said that upgrading a misdemeanor to a felony is not something that she can support. Already, female employees at the public defender’s office face a similar problem when they decide to press charges against their clients–which can increase potential jail time for the client and forces them to give the case up to another lawyer.

Although the indecent exposure problem improved when additional officers and staffers were added to keep an eye on courthouse holding cells, once those extra staff members were removed, the indecent exposure returned. It may seem like a solution to keep the female staff members of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office safe and sane, but adding $40,000 per week in overtime officers comes with its own set of issues.

Thankfully, it looks like the Cook County Sheriff’s Department as well as the public defender’s office are working together on this one to find a solution that will be acceptable to all.