Arizona Agrees To Pay $3M To Former Prison Teacher

Published: Monday, January 4, 2016 - 5:16pm
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(Photo courtesy of Arizona Department of Corrections)
Jacob Harvey

The state of Arizona has agreed to pay $3 million to a former prison teacher who was sexually assaulted by an inmate in 2014, according to documents released Monday.

In exchange, the state admits no wrongdoing or liability. Both sides agreed to pay their own attorney fees and not to discuss terms of the settlement. The teacher’s attorney, Scott Zwillinger, said last week that the agreement is satisfactory to his client. KJZZ does not identify victims of sex crimes.

The settlement ends the teacher’s lawsuit accusing Arizona Department of Corrections officials of not protecting the teacher when they left her alone with inmates while she gave a GED exam at a state prison in Florence.

The Associated Press reported that Arizona’s workplace safety agency fined the Department of Corrections $14,000 for failing to protect the teacher. Prison officials are appealing the fine.