4 sue Philly prison over man in female jail

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Four women are suing Philadelphia’s prison system after they say they were put in danger when a biologically male inmate was housed at a women’s prison for more than a year.

The lawsuit filed last week alleges the women were subject to unwanted advances and sexual harassment over a 14-month span after authorities mistakenly assigned Jovanie Saldana to the city women’s jail.

Saldana was transferred out of the Riverside Correctional Facility after complaining about being forced to perform oral sex on a corrections officer.

Prisons spokeswoman Shawn Hawes tells The Philadelphia Inquirer that officials assumed Saldana was female.

The suit claims nurses failed to perform a required exam that would have determined Saldana’s gender.