High Court Orders State to Pay $2.5 Million to Woman Who Reported Sexual Abuse by Prison Officer

The High Court has ordered the State to pay Nadia Pooran more than $2.5 million after finding that a female prison officer repeatedly sexually abused her while she was incarcerated in the Women’s Prison in Arouca. Judge Robin Mohammed ruled that Pooran’s constitutional rights to humane treatment and equality were violated.

Pooran, who was serving a 12‑year sentence for the 2003 murder of teacher Ralphy Ramcharan, described a pattern of abuse that included forced oral sex, phone recordings, and visits from the officer while she was in solitary confinement. She said the officer also tried to force her to model lingerie for photographs. The officer denied all accusations and did not attend the court hearing.

The judge accepted Pooran’s evidence as uncontradicted and found that the State failed to protect her from cruel and unusual punishment. He awarded $2 million in general damages—$450 per day for her incarceration—and an additional $450 000 in vindicatory damages, bringing the total to $2.45 million.

After her release, Pooran fled to the United Kingdom, where she is seeking asylum. She earned a First Class Honours BA in Sociology from the University of Bradford and is pursuing an MA in Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester. The case underscores that a prison sentence does not remove a person’s constitutional right to protection from abuse.