By Terrie Morgan-Besecker
The Times-Tribune
SCRANTON, Pa. — A federal judge dismissed a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by a former Lackawanna County prison lieutenant who claimed she was wrongly demoted following the brutal assault of an inmate.
Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo said Nancy Carroll failed to provide any evidence to support her claims she was demoted solely because she is a female. Rather, prison officials had ample evidence to support their position that the disciplinary action was warranted based on Ms. Carroll’s handling of the August 2010 assault of inmate Nicholas Pinto by fellow inmate Michael Simonson.
Ms. Carroll filed suit in 2012, claiming the she was treated more harshly than several other male prison guards who were on duty when Mr. Simonson viciously attacked Mr. Pinto. Mr. Pinto, who was held in the county prison pending sentencing on federal child pornography charges, suffered brain damage from the assault and nearly died. Mr. Simonson, already serving a life sentence for a murder in Luzerne County, received another 20 to 49 years on top of that for a near fatal attack.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Cynthia Pollick of Pittston, claimed the male guards were more culpable for allowing the assault to occur, yet they received a less severe punishment than Ms. Carroll, who was demoted and suffered a $20,000 pay cut.
Joe Joyce, attorney for the prison, filed a motion to dismiss the suit. Judge Caputo granted the motion on Sept. 16.
In his ruling, the judge noted Ms. Carroll was not “similarly situated” to the male guards because she was a lieutenant, which was a higher rank and entailed greater responsibility. The judge further noted that the interim warden at the time, Vince Mooney, stated he demoted Ms. Carroll primarily because she did not preserve the crime scene and was evasive when questioned about her actions.
Ms. Carroll also claimed prison officials violated her due process rights when they released false information to the media regarding her role in the assault.
Judge Caputo previously denied the prison’s motion to dismiss that count. After receiving additional information, the judge agreed there was insufficient evidence to support Ms. Carroll’s claims that she was defamed by the statements because the news articles merely stated she was on duty at the time of the assault and would face a disciplinary hearing. That information was true and did not rise to the level to be considered defamatory, he said.