A transgender inmate has been transferred out of the only women’s prison in New Jersey after impregnating two female inmates.
Demi Minor, 27, has been moved to the vulnerable housing unit at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, a prison for young adults ages 18 to 30, according to Dan Sperrazza, a New Jersey Department of Corrections spokesman.
Sperazza confirmed there are three trans women housed in the youth facility’s vulnerable housing unit, though the prison’s general population houses only men.
Minor’s removal from the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women comes just a year after the state reached a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey to house transgender inmates according to their gender identity, instead of their sex assigned at birth. The facility currently houses 27 transgender inmates, NJ Advance Media reported.
Sperrazza said “decisions related to an incarcerated person’s housing are made within the parameters of the settlement agreement which requires consideration of gender identity and the health and safety of the individual.”
The ACLU of New Jersey did not provide a response to NBC News’ requests for comment regarding Minor’s prison transfer.
Minor, who is serving a 30-year prison sentence for manslaughter, impregnated the fellow inmates earlier this year following consensual sexual relationships, Sperrazza confirmed. He added that even consensual sex between inmates is prohibited in the state.
Last year, two inmates at Edna Mahan filed a lawsuit “challenging the state policy and practice of housing some pre-gender confirmation surgery transgender women,” adding that it violates their constitutional rights, according to court documents.
In a letter from Minor posted to the blog Justice 4 Demi, which often publishes videos and letters from her, she described her removal from Edna Mahan as punishment for having sex with two women.
“As a woman who is transgender I truly fear what lies ahead for me, its clear that staff have looked for some kind of security reason to kick me out of the only female correctional facility,” Minor wrote in the post, which was published Friday. “They have thrown me to the wolfs and expected for me just gave up, I am baffled and disgusted by this use power and I can only ask that the commissioner and governors office please send me back. I don’t deserve to be treated like this.”
In a separate post published July 5, the blog alleged a group of correctional officers beat Minor in a van while transferring her.
The Department of Corrections said an investigation determined the assault allegations to be unfounded.
“The Department has zero tolerance for abuse, and the safety and security of the incarcerated population and staff are of critical importance,” Sperrazza said in an email. “Any allegations of mistreatment or abuse are thoroughly and expeditiously investigated by the Special Investigations Division (SID).”