Chautauqua County Jail. P-J file photo

Three women claim they were sexually abused by a corrections officer while inmates at the Chautauqua County Jail.

The allegations are outlined in three separate Adult Survivors Act lawsuits filed Wednesday in state Supreme Court in Chautauqua County and together seek tens of millions of dollars in damages.

All three women say their abuse occurred at the hands of Jeffrey Swan, a longtime employee of the Sheriff’s Office who resigned in April 2014 after he was indicted on charges he had sexual contact with a female inmate. Swan later pleaded guilty to a charge of third-degree criminal sex act and was sentenced to 10 years probation.

In February 2016, the county reached a financial settlement with two individuals who claimed Swan sexually abused them while inmates at the Mayville jail. During an emergency county Legislature meeting, lawmakers approved $75,000 settlements to each woman, both of whom were involved in a civil rights lawsuit in New York Western District Court.

“This is something that never should have happened,” then-Sheriff Joe Gerace said after the settlements were approved. “It was the actions of one individual that acted outside of our rules, regulations and the law. The county was held responsible for his actions.”

All three lawsuits this week have been filed against the county and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office. Swan is not listed as a defendant.

County Attorney Patrick Slagle said the county has not yet been served with any lawsuit and, as a result, could not comment.

Two of the women say the abuse occurred in the mid-’90s, while the third states the abuse took place in the fall of 2013.

All three suits fall under the Adult Survivors Act. The legislation, enacted in May 2022, has allowed alleged victims of sexual abuse for which the statute of limitations has lapsed to file civil suits for a one-year period ending Nov. 24.

None of the women are being identified by The Post-Journal because they claim to be the victims of sexual abuse.

In two of the suits, the women are seeking damages in the amount of $20 million while the third is seeking $25 million “for her past and future suffering, injuries and expenses.”

As documented in the complaints, the earliest claim of abuse occurred sometime between August and October 1995 when the former inmate claims Swan forced her to fondle him in an elevator at the jail. “Plaintiff did not consent to the above-described sexual contact and pulled away from (corrections officer) Swan,” the suit states.

The woman’s incarceration at the jail began on Aug. 4, 1995. She said the abuse took place while she was going to the kitchen for a work assignment.

In the second complaint, the woman claims to have been sexual abused by Swan on about 20 occasions while an inmate around 1996. Allegations include the officer forcing the inmate to fondle him in addition to the officer fondling the inmate and “generally occurred” in the jail’s weight room.

“Plaintiff was highly afraid and terrified of CO Swan and feared for her life before, during and after the sexual abuse,” the complaint states.

Swan is further accused of flirting with the inmate, buying her food and giving her special privileges. On one occasion, the victim states, Swan did not report the inmate after she was caught smoking.

The third set of allegations involves an inmate taken to the jail on Oct. 17, 2013. The woman claims Swan sexually abused her seven times in 2013, between Oct. 24 and Nov. 30.

On two occasions, the incidents occurred in the officer station inside the jail.

“On various occasions, CO Swan threatened that Plaintiff would ‘get in trouble’ if she refused to comply with his sexual demands and/or reported the above-described abuse,” the complaint notes.

The former inmate further claims Swan provided her cigarettes and alcohol brought in from outside the jail.