Desert View private prison run by abusive Geo staff

I am currently a ward of the state of California and a pretrial detainee. On July 18, 2004 I was transferred to Desert View MCCF, a private run prison in San Bernardino County. Desert View is staffed by the Geo group, but supervised by California Department of Correction officers. On July 28, 2004 I was participating in the weekly Islamic services when a Geo staff abruptly interrupted the services allegedly to ask about my facial hair. After presenting the Geo staff with medical documents for my facial hair the staff began threatening other participants. This incident was immediately reported to the CDC Sgt on duty. Over the next few days I was struck in the groin by the same staff and in another incident I was prevented from using the rest room for malicious and sadistic retaliatory reasons.

On the 5th of August 2004, I again was stopped by the same Geo staff. This time the staff informed me that it was against the institution policy to have a pocket size Qur'an. I immediately reported this incident to the same CDC Sgt. And 45 minutes afterwards, in front of the Islamic services the Geo staff grab me around the neck and attempted to swing on with a metal flashlight. This happened in view of the institution camera. However the institution claims that after six days that they recorded over the video.

The alleged was also the reporting staff, who did not take the names or statements of the witnesses.

I was found guilty in a state disciplinary hearing, and was placed in the SHU program for 28 months. After all the witnesses paroled, the stated pursued criminal charges. After fourteen months, one Geo staff testified that I knocked out four of his teeth and in the last nine months he had a heart attack. However, he did not testify that the teeth were dentures.

The other Geo staff testified that she has three bulging disks in her neck because she grabbed me. Her medical reflects she was in a car accident in which she sustained whiplash and she suffers from brachial plexus entrapment or degenerative disc disease. The medical report further reflects that she has posterior disc protrusion, abnormal curvature. In spite of all the obvious misrepresentation of the truth, I'm facing what may be a life sentence. Prior to this incident I've only had one discipline and that was in 1991. Based on this situation I was deprived of the chance to communicate with my last dying brother and I cannot express the sufferings of my material family. What is truly sad is that the CDC Sgt has informed me that many times he has warned the warden about this particular staff's behavior.

I have all the documents to support the foregoing statements, including medical reports. I've been completely deprived the right to grieve. I've addressed every one from the CDC to the Governor's office. A few months ago the San Bernadino Sun newspaper did a story on the Geo group donating $60,000 to the Governor's fund and strangely receiving a 20 million dollar contract.

- a California prisoner, November 2005