The Federal Detention Center at 7th and Arch Streets. Read more Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Jillian Kramer Published Nov. 24, 2025, 4:06 p.m. ET

A woman who was incarcerated at Philadelphia’s Federal Detention Center has sued a correctional officer who she says raped her while she was isolated in a cell and under suicide watch.

The lawsuit, filed this week in federal court in Philadelphia, alleges that Michael Jefferson unlocked the woman’s cell early on July 6, 2024, as she slept. She awoke, the lawsuit said, as Jefferson pinned her down and sexually assaulted her while she pleaded for him to stop.

The woman, identified in the lawsuit only as Jane Doe, is also suing the United States, contending that the Bureau of Prisons failed to protect her from Jefferson’s abuse.

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