Former Deer Ridge prison inmate files federal lawsuit against prison doctor, alleging sexual abuse

By Ben Botkin, Oregon Capital Chronicle

This story contains details of a sexual assault.

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A former Oregon inmate filed a federal lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Corrections, alleging he was sexually abused by a medical doctor while incarcerated at the Deer Ridge Correctional Institution near Madras. 

The lawsuit was filed on Monday in U.S. District Court in Portland. The former inmate, James Watkins, was released on Nov. 8 from Deer Ridge. In the lawsuit, Watkins lays out allegations of abuse while he was a patient in the care of Dr. Leland Beamer, chief medical officer of the prison, located four miles east of Madras. 

Watkins alleges Beamer sexually abused him during medical appointments and said other prison managers did not do enough to prevent it or investigate the case after he reported it to authorities. 

Report abuse 

The public and Oregon Department of Corrections staff can report sexual abuse and waste, fraud and other serious abuse on a hotline by calling (877) 831-0389.

Tips are reviewed each business day. Inmates have a separate internal number.

His attorney,  Alicia LeDuc Montgomery, said the case is the latest in a pattern of sexual misconduct cases at the state agency and needs to be held accountable for abuses of vulnerable people in custody. At the corrections agency, which holds about 12,000 people in prisons across the state, reports of sexual abuse have repeatedly emerged. 

“The Oregon Department of Corrections has been on notice for years about its systemic problem of sexual abuse and exploitation of inmates by prison staff,” she said in a statement. “In this case, the abuse was not only abhorrent but occurred while our client was seeking treatment for serious medical conditions, turning a moment of vulnerability into one of profound violation. Federal courts are clear: Sexual predation by government employees is not part of anyone’s prison sentence. We will hold the perpetrators and ODOC leadership accountable for their callous disregard of inmate safety and dignity.”

Amber Campbell, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Corrections, said the agency has a “zero-tolerance” policy for sexual abuse and harassment of inmates or staff. 

“While we cannot comment on specific details of the pending litigation, we are committed to addressing all allegations that arise and to upholding our obligations to those in our custody,” Campbell said in an email. 

In 2023, a former nurse at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Oregon’s women’s prison, got a 30-year prison sentence after he was convicted of sexually abusing nine women. Sgt. Levi Gray, a corrections officer at that prison, was charged in 2023 with custodial sexual misconduct involving a woman in custody. She also has sued and the charges are pending.

In another case, former correctional officer Ruben Benavidez faced multiple lawsuits alleging he coerced inmates into sexual acts and recorded them on his cell phone. State records show he resigned from his position at Oregon State Correctional Institution in 2020 in lieu of termination amid an investigation.

In the current case, Watkins’ allegations are focused on five appointments he had with Beamer between November 2022 and January 2023. At the time, Watkins had a back injury that needed treatment because he slipped on water and fell while working in a prison kitchen.

Watkins said the care was routine at first but soon progressed to inappropriate touching and personal remarks, according to the lawsuit. Beamer groped Watkins and commented on how the two could meet for lunch after Watkins’ release, the lawsuit said. 

In a December 2022 appointment, Beamer needed to put an injection into Watkins’ back to treat his injury, but instructed his patient to lower his pants and underwear down to his ankles, the lawsuit said, calling that medically unnecessary. After Beamer injected the shot, he allegedly slapped Watkins’ bare buttocks with the palm of his hand and said they were done, the lawsuit said.

“Defendant Beamer’s unwanted act of slapping plaintiff Watkins on his bare buttocks was against plaintiff Watkin’s will and made plaintiff Watkins feel sexually violated,” the lawsuit said.

At a January 2022 appointment, Beamer insisted on performing a prostate exam, which Watkins did not consent to, the lawsuit said. 

Watkins asked him to stop touching him, and Beamer continued anyway, the lawsuit said. The action caused “severe pain,” the lawsuit said, and Beamer refused to stop touching his prostate.

In his lawsuit, Wakins alleges he had to pull Beamer’s hand out of his rectum in order to “stop” Beamer from “further sexually assaulting him.”

When Watkins asked Beamer why he did not stop, the doctor laughed and said he “only used four fingers,” the lawsuit said.

“Beamer breached the standard of care of a doctor by using his professional position as plaintiff Watkins’ doctor to foster a personal trusting relationship, by failing to follow policies and procedures regarding minimum staffing requirements and chaperones when treating patients for medically sensitive areas, by placing Mr. Watkins in a situation where he could be sexually harassed and abused, and by intentionally sexually abusing Mr. Watkins,” the lawsuit said.

Watkins filed a grievance with the prison through the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, which is intended to make prisons accountable to reduce sexual assaults. His complaint worked its way through the system and in September 2023, he got a letter that when the investigation concluded, he would get a notice of the outcome through the facility’s administrator for the act. 

A final notice with the outcome never arrived, the lawsuit said. 

The complaint also alleges the prison failed to educate staff and inmates about their right to request a chaperone during sensitive medical appointments so they aren’t alone. 

The lawsuit, which names other prison administrators, alleges that Oregon Department of Corrections managers failed to protect him and should have known about other complaints that inmates have made about the doctor. 

Oregon Medical Board records show Beamer obtained his medical license in 1974. He graduated with a medical degree in 1968 from the University of Iowa and interned for the following year at Emanuel Hospital in north Portland, which was not owned by Legacy Health at the time.

In 1973, Beamer completed a two-year residency at a community hospital in Santa Rosa, California, state records show.

Oregon Medical Board records don’t show any history of violations on Beamer’s records. The board’s staff declined to say if any complaints are pending, citing a state law that makes them confidential.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages for Watkins’ harm and suffering and the prison’s failure to protect him.