Maryland criminalizes both sexual offenses and rape (within some states these are referred as sexual assault). Sexual crimes are split into four degrees of sexual activity, while rape can have only two levels attacks. In general, the criminal penalties in Maryland can vary based on the aggravating factors, such as using violence or force, weapons, or if the victim is too young or an elderly. One of the places where rape is still quite uncontrolled is a prison. If you were the victim of sexual abuse in a prison from Maryland, you should contact an attorney. With the help of a sexual abuse lawyer from Maryland, you can fight for your rights.

PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act)

President Bush signed in 2003 PREA into law. The DOJ (Department of Justice) started then to develop a series of national standards that were implemented in the state, local, and federal correctional organizations. The purpose of these rules is to offer clear guidelines for detecting, responding and preventing sexual abuse incidence between inmates from a confinement facility. The process of defining the national standards was quite lengthy, but after a lot of reviews, in 2012, the PREA standards entered into force. The PREA standards were also added to the sexual abuse law of MD.

In addition to this, Secretary Maynard issued on September 1, 2012, a directive that zero tolerated the sexual harassment and ill-treatment of inmates. A As a result, more structures were founded to assure the efficiency of PREA, such as PREA Compliance Managers, and PREA Committee. The directives established by PREA confirm what the sexual abuse law of MD and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services stated all along:

• Zero tolerance for sexual harassment or abuse of an inmate.
• An aggressive approach to detecting, addressing and preventing sexual abuse or harassment acts.
• Ensuring the efforts and the new strategies that prevent, respond and detect sexual abuse and harassment actions.

Sexual abuse hotline

If you or a loved one had been the victim of sexual assault or harassment in prison, you should contact a sexual abuse attorney from Annapolis. Furthermore, you have the option of contacting the national sexual abuse helpline at 800.656.4673 (HOPE). When you call the sexual abuse helpline, you will be routed to the local RAINN organization based on the first digits of your phone number.

By contacting the National Sexual Assault Hotline, you will receive a series of free services, such as:

• Receiving confidential support from a staff member
• Someone to help you talk about your incident
• Referrals for long term support
• Local resources that will assist you in healing and recovery
• Help finding a local facility designed for helping sexual abuse victims.
• Basic information about any medical concerns regarding sexual abuse

Sexual abuse in prison is still a common thing. If you are one of its victims, you can contact a sexual abuse lawyer from Maryland and explain to them what happened.

Contact the best sexual assault attorney from Annapolis at (443) 569-3950 or at email chris@annapolisaccidentattorney.com. A Free consultation of your case.