Transgender woman harassed, assaulted and isolated in Maryland jails, lawsuit alleges

BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — A lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday calls a transgender woman’s pre-trial detention in Maryland cruel and unusual after she was allegedly housed with male inmates, harassed, sexually assaulted, held in solitary confinement and denied hormone medication.

Chelsea Gilliam was held pre-trial for six months after she was arrested for assault, according to Brown, Goldstein & Levy, the law firm representing her.

The lawsuit claims both the Baltimore City Correctional Center and the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center refused to accept Gilliam’s legally changed name and her gender identity.

"I’m filing this lawsuit today because I don’t want what happened to me to happen to any other trans woman in Maryland," Gilliam said in a press conference Wednesday.

"I would say I was treated like an animal, but it was worse than that," she continued.

"Despite her femininity and gender identity as a woman, Ms. Gilliam was forced to live and shower with male inmates" at the Baltimore jail, the law firm said. "During this time, she was harassed by both officers and inmates and ultimately sexually assaulted by another inmate."

The lawsuit claims the jail took no action when Gilliam reported the assault.

After three months at the Baltimore jail, she was moved to administrative segregation at MRDCC, where she was allowed out of her cell for one our a day except on weekends when she was not allowed out at all, the lawsuit states.

Despite good behavior, MRDCC officers allegedly shackled Gilliam by the hands, waist and ankles whenever she left her cell.

"Ms. Gilliam suffered a great deal of anxiety and distress from these experiences," the firm said.

The lawsuit said Gilliam’s treatment qualifies as "cruel and unusual" under the 14th Amendment, gross negligence and as violating the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Gender dysphoria is a protected disability by the ADA based on a precedent set in 2022, the law firm said.

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