Queens councilwoman calls for increased penalties on sexual assaults, harassment against correction officers

COBA_Press_Conference_2-1-1200×900-1

As the humanitarian crisis on Rikers Island has claimed the lives of 14 incarcerated individuals already this year, Councilwoman Adrienne Adams joined the executive board of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, including its president Benny Boscio, on Oct. 25 to announce new legislative actions to deter the ongoing sexual assaults and harassment perpetrated against correction officers inside New York City jails.

Adams, the chair of the Committee of Public Safety, plans to introduce a resolution calling on the governor and state Legislature to amend the New York State Penal Law to make forcible touching of a correction officer a felony instead of a Class A misdemeanor.