The government says Shawn Shaw raped an inmate when he was the only corrections officer working the women's tier Dec. 27-28, 2010. His defense says the evidence doesn't hold up.
NEWARK -- Shawn Shaw took advantage of an opportunity, being the only corrections officer on duty on the women's tier at the Essex County Correctional Facility one night in 2010 -- and then he took advantage of an inmate, prosecutors said in the opening of Shaw's trial on charges he raped the woman while on duty.
Shaw faces a possible life sentence if found guilty of violating the inmate's rights while serving as a corrections officer. He also is charged with obstructing the investigation of the alleged incident by giving a false report.
The late night shift on Dec. 27-28, 2010, was Shaw's first time working the women's tier, Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana Chen said in her opening statement in federal court in Newark.
Chen said testimony will show that Shaw targeted the woman, asked her for sex in person and then called on the jail's intercom. Chen said the woman rebuffed him each time.
In his statement however, defense attorney Mark A. Fury said the woman gave "four different statements" about the alleged incident to investigators, indicating he intends to challenge her ruthfulness.
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In addition, Fury said there is no evidence showing Shaw opened her cell door, nor evidence of bodily injuries, as alleged.
The coverup charge also cannot be sustained, he said.
"He can't cover up something that didn't happen," Fury said.
During that night more than five years ago, a heavy snow fell, forcing Shaw to be guarding the women's tier by himself, court records show.
There, Shaw had "full control" of the woman's cell door, Chen said.
Computer records show the woman's cell door was opened at 2:43 a.m. for a period of seven minutes -- something that Chen said rarely happens. Normally, she said, cell doors are opened after 8:30 p.m. only for medical emergencies.
She said Shaw entered the women's cell, pinned her to her bunkbed and had intercourse with her. The woman will testify that she didn't scream at the time because she thought it wouldn't have helped her, Chen said.
The woman's cellmate was in the cell and slept through it, Chen said, adding that she will testify she witnessed Shaw targeting the woman before she went to sleep.
A test kit showed the alleged victim had had sex with a man several days after the incident and even though she had been in the jail for 14 months, Chen said.
But Fury countered that even DNA evidence can be misleading, and told jurors he would challenge the expert witness's analysis, saying it changed from 2010 to a more recent analysis favorable to the government.
He also said telephone recordings at the time show the woman was depressed and wanted to get out of the jail. The accusation that she had been raped, he said, created that circumstance for her.
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