A formerly incarcerated man is suing Allegheny County after he claims he was sexually assaulted in his jail cell with a spork.
The complaint, filed last week against Allegheny County and Corrections Officer Van Lieu, includes claims for failure to protect, and failure to train, supervise and discipline staff.
Although the complaint in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court does not provide a first name for Van Lieu, public records show a person named Cory Van Lieu as a corrections officer at the Allegheny County Jail.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages.
TribLive does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.
The jail did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was being held on Pod 3D on Sept. 8 within immediate sight of Van Lieu’s guard station.
At approximately 7:07 p.m., the lawsuit said, the plaintiff entered his cell, and one minute later, two incarcerated men — Damon Peters and Jayshon Martin — entered, closed the door and covered the cell window with a towel.
The lawsuit asserts that Van Lieu saw what was happening and did nothing to intervene.
Then, at 7:09 p.m., another inmate, Jewel Woods, motioned for Van Lieu to open the cell to let him in, and the officer did, the lawsuit said.
Three minutes later, Woods exited the cell and stood guard outside, while leaving the plaintiff inside his cell with Peters and Martin, according to the lawsuit.
For the next 27 minutes, the lawsuit said, the plaintiff was sodomized with a spork, strangled and assaulted.
Afterward, the alleged victim was taken to Allegheny General Hospital for treatment.
Martin and Peters are charged with conspiracy, aggravated indecent assault and strangulation stemming from the alleged attack. Peters is also charged with robbery and unlawful restraint.
Woods is charged with terroristic threats.
Trial is scheduled for all three on May 27 before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer.
The lawsuit asserts there were at least three other assaults under similar circumstances in the jail in June 2024.
This is the second lawsuit alleging similar allegations of other incarcerated men attacking another in their cell with a spork.
Shawn Daniels settled a lawsuit with Allegheny County in November after he said he was stabbed more than three dozen times last year when two men entered his cell on June 5, 2024.
The county agreed to pay the Cheswick man $85,000 after he sued for civil rights violations and failure to protect.
According to his lawsuit, Daniels, who was being held in the jail for driving under the influence, had just returned to his cell from attending Mass when two other incarcerated men entered his cell and attacked him.
Charges of aggravated assault, terroristic threats, false imprisonment and robbery against Keyjuan King and Kesean Proctor are still pending.
Bethany Hallam, a vocal member of the Jail Oversight Board, said Monday that at the time the alleged September assault happened, Warden Trevor Wingard made them aware of it.
However, the board did not get any details, she said.
“It’s really hard for us to work to fix these problems when that information is kept from us,” Hallam told TribLive. “It is our statutory obligation to keep people in the jail safe.”
Hallam believes that under Wingard’s leadership — he started there early last year — instances like those outlined in the lawsuit have decreased. But, she continued, the warden is only one person, who can’t be everywhere in the jail at all times.
“It so concerning that there have been so many of these, and I have yet to see a specific plan to address stopping it.”