WARREN — The state paid $395,000 to a former prison corrections officer to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who claimed that she endured a hostile work environment due to her gender and sexual orientation while working at the Maine State Prison and Bolduc Correctional Facility.
The amount of the settlement agreement in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Bangor by Autumn Dinsmore in July 2021 has been reported in various media outlets. Her attorney, Shelby Leighton, wrote in a news release: “Autumn has worked bravely and tirelessly for years to change the culture at Maine State Prison, which is abusive and unwelcoming to women, and gay women in particular. We are hopeful that filing this lawsuit will lead to women employees of the prison finally being treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
Dinsmore worked for the Maine Corrections Department beginning January 23, 2017. Her last position was a correction officer at Bolduc Correctional Facility, and she worked in the same capacity at Maine State Prison from January 23, 2017, to September 23, 2019.
Read the full Penobscot Bay Pilot News article here.