Ex-youth inmate claims sex assault

Friday, Jan. 24, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.

A former inmate at a youth prison in North Las Vegas has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that he was sexually assaulted in the prison by a former corrections counselor.

The lawsuit alleges that corrections counselor Jennifer Burkley repeatedly forced, coerced and intimidated inmate Ryan Layman to have sex with her between November 2000 and January 2001 at the Summit View Youth Correctional Facility.

Layman was 17 at the time the alleged incidents happened, according to the suit. The lawsuit also lists as defendants Nevada's Child and Family Services Division and Youth Services International, the Florida-based company that ran the prison until it closed in 2002.

The suit seeks general damages of $2 million, and $1 million in punitive damages against Burkley. The suit also seeks special damages in excess of $100,000 from all the defendants.

Burkley and Gloria Kim, another corrections counselor at the 96-bed maximum security facility, were sentenced to two year's probation in Clark County District Court in November 2001 after pleading guilty to engaging in sex acts with inmates at the prison. The women were also ordered to pay $500 in fines and attend impulse control classes.