Jailhouse rock
Riker’s guard assault suit
A former Rikers guard who was sexually assaulted by an inmate claims a nurse at the notorious jail could have been spared an attempted rape if supervisors had taken her own attack more seriously.
Yessica Delacruz said she was working an overnight shift at one of the jail’s clinics and was transferring incoming inmates from an intake cell to the medical unit when she encountered Michael Cleaver just after 2 a.m. on Nov. 12, 2021.
“He grabbed my upper area aggressively,” said Delacruz, 40, who is suing the city for damages and emotional distress in Bronx Supreme Court. “Then, he grabbed my breast.”
Cleaver, 55, was arrested Nov. 9 on charges of burglary, harassment and menacing, records show.
The officer said she managed to push him back into the cell before calling a supervisor about the attack, but nobody came, so she decided to close the clinic. But Cleaver tried to break free.
“He came to the door and started pushing the door, like a football player,” she said of the 5-foot-6inch, 210-pound inmate.
Eventually, a male officer came to her aid. But Cleaver “pushed the officer to the side and he rushed back to me,” Delacruz said. “He threw himself on me.”
Delacruz, who stands about the same height as Cleaver but weighs 50 pounds less, discharged pepper spray.
The unidentified jail boss told her to file a report. He also told her, “Don’t tell your husband,” and she now believes he was trying to hide the attack.
About 14 hours later, Cleaver allegedly tried to rape a 51-year-old nurse. The attack was halted by another inmate, prosecutors said in court.
Delacruz said that if her bosses had taken her assault more seriously, Cleaver “would have had chains on his hands and feet. That attempted rape would haven’t happened.”