FORKS, Wash. – The City of Forks will pay $1 million to the family of a 23-year-old woman who took her own life in jail, after reporting she was sexually abused by a corrections officer who has since been convicted of sexually assaulting inmates.
The city reached the settlement with the family of Kimberly Bender, a member of the Quileute tribe, last week. The City Council approved the payout at their meeting Monday.
Bender took her own life after reporting her abuse at the hands of Officer John Gray, who was convicted in 2020 of sexually assaulting several other inmates.
Court documents show that Gray had a history of sexually harassing, sexually assaulting or sexual misconduct with inmates. His trial revealed that his supervisors, other officers, and even city administrative staff dragged their heels in investigating him. He at one point was fired from a Department of Corrections job in 2018 for sexual harassment but was reinstated months later following a union grievance.
Bender was booked into jail on drug charges in November of 2019, and was overheard telling her mother on the phone she felt suicidal, but staff did not attempt any kind of intervention.
Soon after, she attempted suicide and was brought to the medical staff for evaluation, who prescribed therapy medications.
The next day, she told a Forks Police officer she had been sexually harassed by Gray, who reportedly checked on her two to three times a night, making lewd comments.
Gray was terminated that same week.
Court documents say jail staff were given after-care instructions for Bender, but did not appear to follow them. A later toxicology report found Bender had not been given her prescribed daily medications on the days prior to her taking her own life in her jail cell on December 7, 2019.
A few months later, Gray was charged and pleaded guilty to four counts of custodial sexual misconduct, and was sentenced to 20 months in prison.