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Prisoner allegedly sexually harassed transgender inmate in New York prison

BRONX, NY (PIX11) – A Rikers Island inmate has been charged with allegedly attacking a transgender inmate in her jail cell, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark announced Friday.

The inmate is said to have threatened the transgender inmate with an improvised ice pick in exchange for sexual acts.

“Sexual violence against anyone in prison is prosecuted with the utmost severity,” Clark said in a statement. “(The attacker) allegedly used a sharp weapon and presented the victim with a crazy choice – to be stabbed or sexually assaulted.”

According to an investigation, the defendant attacked the transgender inmate in her cell at the Anna M. Kross Center on May 12, 2022. The defendant, 34-year-old Kelvin Williams, was allegedly caught on surveillance video pacing outside the victim’s cell. He then allegedly made a makeshift ice pick and gave the victim the choice of being stabbed or sexually assaulted, court records show.

Williams is accused of the following:

  • Sexual assault
  • Criminal sexual conduct in the first degree
  • First degree sexual abuse
  • Criminal sexual conduct in the third degree
  • Sexual misconduct
  • Violent touching
  • Criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree
  • Third degree assault
  • Third degree sexual abuse

The defendant must appear in court again in September.

Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist based in El Paso, Texas. He has been covering local news and LGBTQIA issues in the New York City metropolitan area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can find more of his work here.