A transgender inmate at a Rikers Island facility in New York has been sentenced to seven years in prison after raping a female prisoner while in the women's section of the jail, officials said Monday.
Ramel Blount, 33, who goes by Diamond Blount, pleaded guilty to attempted rape April 7 in an apparent plea deal.
Blount Approached the Victim from Behind, Held Her Down by Her Neck
Investigators said Blount — who was housed in the female section of the facility — approached a 33-year-old female inmate in the bathroom at the Rose M. Singer center Feb. 8, 2021, after the victim had just finished showering.
Blount approached the victim from behind, held the victim down by the back of her neck and raped her, investigators said. The victim reported the incident to jail officials, and a rape kit was administered, which matched Blount's DNA in the New York State Registry.
Bronx County DA: 'Sexual Violence Against Anyone is Unacceptable'
Blount received a sentence of seven years, plus eight years of post-release supervision. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
In a press statement on April 25, Bronx County District Attorney Darcel Clark said, "Sexual violence against anyone is unacceptable." Rikers Island is located in the Bronx borough of New York City and is therefore in Clark's jurisdiction. He did not discuss the particular circumstances of the rape, specifically the fact that it was perpetrated by a male at a women's facility.
The news comes less than two weeks after reports that a transgender inmate at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in New Jersey impregnated two female prisoners at the women's-only prison, as previously reported.
The Biden administration and a number of progressive states have proposed or passed policies that would allow transgender inmates to be transferred to a prison that corresponds with their gender preference.
In January, a draft executive order from President Biden leaked that, if issued, would order the U.S. attorney general to reinstitute a federal policy, revoked under the Trump administration, allowing male criminals to be housed at women's prisons if they claim to identify as female.
