Crossfire of Allegations at County Jail - Niagara Falls Reporter

2NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 21 - MAY 29, 2013Lawsuit Promised Against Sheriff's Department in Jailhouse Harassment CaseFrank Parlato.A Buffalo lawyer intends to file alawsuit alleging that a civilian employeeat the Niagara County Sheriff'sDepartment sexually harassed at leastone female prison inmate under hiswatch and in the absence of any swornSheriff Department officers.Robert Maranto of the law firm ofAndrews Bernstein Maranto & NicotraPLLC said he is filing a notice of claimto be served this week against NiagaraCounty."There is zero question this casewill be sued. This will wind up in litigation,"Maranto said.His suit will allege incidents occurredin the laundry room of the NiagaraCounty jail without supervisionfrom uniformed deputies."I think the case is very solid,"Maranto said. "You are a woman in jailand you should be protected from peoplewho are going to prey on you, particularlyin a sexual way. This is asexual harassment case. There was impropertouching. It is more than verbalharassment."The Reporter learned the allegedperpetrator has quit under, what he andothers have said, the threat of being investigatedfor the incidents alleged andfaced possible criminal charges.He denies he did anything improperexcept to inappropriately touchone inmate by "flicking" her pony tailin the laundry room where no cameraswere present.The victims claimed he did muchmore.A second alleged victim told theNIAGARA FALLS REPORTER“The Truth is Always Fair”Danielle McKean got only three weeks with her baby before being taken offto jail for a DUI incident. The failure rate in Niagara County Drug Court isso high she was set up to fail. McKean got more time than many drug dealers,home invaders and far less time than people like Dr. Corasanti who actuallykilled a young lady. McKean hurt no one but herself.Reporter that she too was harassed bythe same civilian employee. On top ofthat, a letter in the Reporter's possessionfrom a third inmate suggests shetoo may have been victimized.Multiple calls made to her cellphone and her mother's phone wentunanswered.As of press time, there is only oneparty to the pending lawsuit.The alleged civilian employee,suspected to be the target of the lawsuit,is Patrick Ryan, 49, of NiagaraFalls, who has worked at the jail in a"civilian" or a non sworn officer capacity,since 1998, in the laundry facility.Ryan resigned in April under pressurethat he could face charges fromhis actions with the alleged victim."I didn’t do anything," Ryan toldthe Reporter. "I quit my job because Ican't fight the county. I don't haveenough money to fight for my job.That’s the reason I left."The Sheriff's Department told methey would charge me with misdemeanors.It was very intimidating,"Ryan said. "They had no evidence, butI would have to go in and prove my innocence.You either try to prove yourinnocence in court and spend a lot ofmoney. Ten, 15 thousand down theroad. I don't have money. There is noway I could fight the county. It is ahuge, tough situation."Niagara County Sheriff JamesVoutour confirmed Ryan resigned hisposition. He said he could not commenton specific details of the allegationsbut said, "Ryan quit on his own.He was made aware of the allegation.He was made aware of a possible criminalinvestigation and he chose to quit,"said Voutour." As a general policy, Iwon't tolerate inappropriate actions onthe part of any employees. Whenbrought to our attention, we investigateand take immediate action. We don'tjust take the inmate's word."One of two women who claimed tohave been harassed by Ryan in thelaundry area of the prison is DanielleMcKean, also known as DanielleLeighton, and is the plaintiff in thelooming lawsuit against the county."When I first started to go down(in the laundry room) Ryan would starthitting my pony tail and hit me withthe cart in my butt," McKean said."After a month, he placed his hand onmy ass. It was done with an open hand.He would say inappropriate comments.When I was bending over, he wouldsay 'I bet your husband likes that.'"When (other inmates and I)would be in the restroom, he wouldbang on the door. He thought it wasfunny, but it wasn't funny. One time,when Chyna (another inmate) was inthere, the door flew open, and he seenher sitting on the toilet. I would alwaysleave the door locked."McKean, 32, is in jail on a drivingwhile under the influence of drugscharge and was recently sentenced to3.5 to years. She is the mother of a oneyear old child.McKean told the Reporter she becameaddicted to heroin when she was22, was charged for cashing forgedchecks when she was 26, violated probation,then later parole and it took hersix years to get out of the system on the(Continued on page 3)PUBLISHER & EDITOR IN CHIEFFrank ParlatoFOUNDING EDITORMike HudsonMANAGING EDITORDr. Chitra SelvarajMARKETING DIR.Michelle ReebSENIOR EDITORTony FarinaCONTRIBUTORSJohnny DestinoJane GrenkeMoose, Jr.Jane SchroederCIRCULATIONLou AvinoP.O. Box 3083, Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14304Phone: (716) 284-5595E-mail: info@niagarafallsreporter.comWebsite: www.niagarafallsreporter.comAPARTMENT FOR RENTLaSalle Silverlake Apartments.2 bedroom. $625 + electric.Open house Saturdays - 8235Buffalo Ave: 11-3pm. call 716-877-3142All contents copyright © 2013 Niagara Falls Reporter Inc.