Sierra Johnson, Who Fought for Victims of Sexual Abuse in NY Prisons, Dies Waiting for Own Lawsuit to Be Heard

“It goes beyond just my own little life,” she added. “I want to be able to completely and fully represent not only myself, but also the people who I was incarcerated with. My heart goes out to them every single day, knowing that [the sexual abuse] hasn’t stopped.”

A few weeks later, we published Johnson’s story as part of an ongoing investigative series supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism and reported in partnership with Hell Gate. “What I want from this is that, no matter what, we are treated as human beings and given the right to safety, the right to exist,” Johnson told me.

But Johnson never got to read the story. In late September, her attorneys informed us that she had passed away on June 13, six days before the article was published. Johnson’s attorney Sonia Allahdad said the firm spoke with Johnson the day before she died, and that she told them that she was going to have to move, as smoke from the Canada wildfires was affecting her health. Johnson lived close to the Canadian border in Akwesasne territory, where she was a mental health and wellness worker for the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, until she got too sick.

“I was trying to reach her to talk about her lawsuit for the past couple of months, but I didn’t get concerned until a few weeks ago, because the messages were still going through to her phone,” Allahdad explained. “Sometimes Ms. Johnson would go MIA due to her health issues. She’d move to her mother’s house so she could take care of her. We figured she was going to be out of touch with us for a while.”

When Allahdad tried phoning her again in late September, and the call didn’t go through, she checked death notices and found an obituary for Johnson online. On October 7, her attorneys formally informed the court and the state of her death.

Johnson’s lawsuit will continue. If it succeeds, any damages will be awarded to Johnson’s estate, of which her teenage daughter is a beneficiary. Hell Gate and New York Focus could not immediately reach Johnson’s next of kin for comment.

Johnson alleged she was groped, raped, and otherwise sexually abused by a prison doctor and three guards while incarcerated in New York prisons in 2014 and 2017.

One of the guards was correction officer David Stupnick, who was arrested and imprisoned in 2020 for a criminal sex act with another incarcerated woman. At least 20 women have filed lawsuits under the Adult Survivors Act alleging Stupnick sexually assaulted them.

Johnson’s story highlighted the lengthy process survivors of sexual assault are facing due to Attorney General Letitia James’s hardline approach to the litigation. Attorneys estimate the state cases could take up to a decade to see a resolution, even as some women who sued the City of New York in 2023 claiming sexual abuse at city jails are already in settlement negotiations.

Johnson’s attorneys applied for her case to be expedited due to her heart condition. But Allahdad said the suit had “hit a wall” before Johnson died, due to the AG’s insistence that it needed more information to identify two alleged abusers whose names she did not know, despite Johnson providing their job titles, shift information, narrow employment periods, race, approximate ages, hair color, facial features, and build.

“They’re refusing to provide us with records that could help in that search,” Allahdad said.

Missing names have been an issue in many Adult Survivors Act cases that allege state prison employees sexually abused incarcerated people, Allahad said.

As of October 7, Allahad said she had been unable to reach Johnson’s family. She said it was sad that Johnson never got to read her own story.“She was so eloquent and so strong, especially when speaking about these topics,” Allahdad said. “And I think she sort of didn’t even know how amazing she was.”