A violent trans-identified male inmate currently being held in a women’s facility in Washington is suing multiple Department of Corrections officials after they recommended he be transferred back to a men’s prison. The recommendation was made after Nonnie Lotusflower, 38, was accused of physically assaulting one female inmate, and sexually assaulting another.
In a December 26 filing obtained by Reduxx, Lotusflower claims that multiple staff members at the Washington Correctional Center for Women (WCCW) are responsible for violating his eighth amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment. Lotusflower, born Nathan Goninan, is serving a 10-year sentence for the brutal murder of a teen girl.
In his complaint, Lotusflower says that he was placed in solitary confinement for an extended period of time, putting him at risk of self-harm and mental health episodes. He alleges a conspiracy in which multiple WCCW staff members intentionally “targeted” him for mistreatment in order to make him “blow up.”
The alleged “mistreatment” stemmed from what Lotusflower called a “fake” Prison Rape Elimination Act case in which he was cited for sexually assaulting a female inmate in 2021. Lotusflower claims multiple WCCW staff falsified infraction reports and photo evidence of the female inmate’s injuries, leading to him being designated a high risk, maximum security inmate.
Despite his claims of a conspiracy, the allegation was marked as “substantiated” after an investigation took place.
In addition to the rape investigation, Reduxx also found that Lotusflower had been cited for physically assaulting a female inmate in April of 2023.
According to a WDOC infraction report, CCTV footage showed Lotusflower punching a female inmate in the face while both had been out in the recreation yard.
Following the assault, Lotusflower then contacted both the victim and multiple other inmates in an apparent effort to compel them to provide false testimonies denying or downplaying the assault. He was ultimately found guilty of the violations, and was sentenced to a loss of privileges for 120 days.
In July of 2023, Lotusflower was referred to transfer back to a men’s prison as a result of his repeat infractions.
In response to his maximum security designation, Lotusflower reportedly threatened a member of WCCW staff, screaming: “I will beat your ass. I will block your fucking face out. You’re an ugly fucking slut!” Lotusflower then also threatened another individual involved in making the decision, loudly declaring that he would “end her fucking life” and murder her family.
Lotusflower contacted the Washington Department of Corrections, complaining of “unfair treatment” and decrying his proposed transfer back to a men’s prison, and received a response from Deborah Wofford, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Women’s Division.
In her response, Wofford noted that Lotusflower had been an “unmitigated threat to the safety of other incarcerated individuals” and had also made serious threats of bodily harm towards staff. Wofford states that “such overtly threatening and aggressive behavior is not typical with individuals incarcerated at WCCW.”
In response to both the threat of transfer back to a men’s prison, along with the solitary confinement he had been subjected to for his repeat incidents physical violence, Lotusflower is suing multiple staff members at WCCW, alleging a violation of his human rights.
In his complaint, he maintains that every allegation made against him was falsified, and that he is the victim of a widespread conspiracy aimed at painting him in a bad light in order to force him back into a men’s facility.
Lotusflower is seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation for “cruel and unusual punishment,” and has invoked the assistance of the ACLU. While it is unclear if the organization has formally taken on this particular iteration of case yet, the ACLU has assisted Lotusflower in the past with other suits.
As previously reported by Reduxx, Lotusflower is currently serving a 10-year sentence for the brutal murder of 17-year-old Jessica Franklin.
The violent criminal targeted Franklin just hours after being released from prison for another conviction in 2007, strangling her to death. Her body was found beneath an underpass in Bellingham, Washington, and a forensic examination revealed signs she had been sexually assaulted. Lotusflower was convicted on second-degree manslaughter charges.
In 2009, while serving his sentence for Franklin’s death, Lotusflower was charged with attempting to break out of prison with another inmate.
In 2017, Lotusflower launched a lawsuit against the Washington State Department of Corrections citing discrimination on the basis of his ‘gender identity,’ and demanding access to ‘gender affirming’ surgeries. The ACLU entered the complaint in support of Lotusflower in 2018, and the suit was ultimately successful.
Speaking to a source within WCCW in 2023, Reduxx learned that Lotusflower had apparently been gifted a costly Victoria’s Secret bra by the Washington Department of Corrections after undergoing his taxpayer-funded breast implant surgery.
Washington’s prison gender self-identification policies have been under fire since 2021 when a whistleblower came forward to reveal that 150 male inmates were being assessed for transfer to the female estate.
Since then, a number of violent male offenders have already been moved. Among them, notorious serial killer Donna Perry, who was convicted of murdering 3 women in a 4-month timeframe in 1990, but claims to have murdered many more.
Other male transfers include Brett David Sonia, who was convicted in 2005 and 2006 on dozens of charges related to the sexual exploitation of a young girl, and Jolene Charisma Starr, born Joel Thomas Nichols, who was convicted of two horrific sex attacks on young girls.
As previously reported by Reduxx in May, another trans-identified male inmate at WCCW had also been accused of sexual assault. Reduxx spoke with an anonymous inmate on the incident, who reported that in April of 2022, transgender inmate Christopher Williams asked to be moved into her cell.
🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨
— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) March 28, 2024
A female inmate at the Washington Correctional Center for Women has come forward to reveal that she was sexually assaulted by her transgender cellmate, Christopher Williams.
Williams, 34, is a violent sex offender.
READ: https://t.co/lLehUzTERt pic.twitter.com/wpzWcs6vlv
The female inmate stated that she became increasingly uncomfortable with Williams’ behavior towards her, which had a near-constant sexual undertone. At one point, Williams appeared to become frustrated with her lack of interest in him, and started issuing disturbing threats of sexual violence. One night, after the inmate had taken sleeping medication, she woke up to find Williams touching her body.
The female inmate said she was voicing her concerns to staff throughout her ordeal, but was “pretty much being ignored.”
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