Former prison inmate sues state and counselor over alleged sexual exploitation

A former Iowa prison inmate is suing the state’s Department of Corrections over her alleged sexual exploitation by a prison counselor.

A woman identified in court records only as “Jane Doe” is suing the State of Iowa, the Iowa Department of Corrections, the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women, and DOC counselor Joseph L. Whitlow in Polk County District Court.

The lawsuit alleges that Doe was incarcerated from April 2024 to October 2024, and again from December 2024 to October 2025, at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville.

According to the lawsuit, Doe had been incarcerated at ICIW on previous occasions, but began serving her initial 2024 sentence on April 4, 2024, with Whitlow assigned to be her counselor as he had been in the past.

The lawsuit alleges that in addition to providing counseling services, Whitlow would also give Doe containers of Gatorade sports drinks that she would retrieve from his office each morning before performing lawn work. According to the lawsuit, during a June 2024 counseling session, Whitlow allegedly told Doe he had “a fantasy of taking her to a hotel room, undressing her, laying her on the bed and running his tongue over her body.”

After seeing the comment made Doe uncomfortable, Whitlow stated, “I probably shouldn’t have told you that,” the lawsuit alleges. Beginning in mid or late July, Whitlow began touching Doe’s breasts and kissing her, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit also asserts that between mid-July and mid-October in 2024, there were approximately 20 separate instances of Whitlow kissing Doe and touching her breasts. During one session in August 2024, Whitlow allegedly had Doe perform oral sex on him — a level of sexual activity that occurred a total of three or four times, the lawsuit alleges.

According to the lawsuit, Doe was afraid to report Whitlow’s conduct because he played a role in deciding when she would be released. In August 2024, the parole board recommended granting Doe early parole, but “Whitlow denied it,” the lawsuit claims.

In October 2024, the lawsuit alleges, Doe was released after she promised Whitlow she would tell no one of their activities. On the day of her release, the lawsuit states, Whitlow gave Doe a greeting card that was signed “Little Wiener” and contained $300 in cash.

In December 2024, Doe was arrested for violating the conditions of her parole and was later ordered back to ICIW. The lawsuit alleges she then reported Whitlow’s actions to an officer in the Pottawattamie County Jail where she was residing, and the officer filed a Prison Rape Elimination Act report with the correctional security manager at ICIW.

According to the lawsuit, an investigation was initiated by the Iowa Department of Corrections and on Feb. 24, 2025, Doe received a letter from the department that the investigation had been completed, and that the allegation of sexual misconduct was deemed unsubstantiated, while the allegations of sexual harassment was considered substantiated. Days later, Doe was allegedly notified by the DOC that Whitlow was no longer employed by the department.

After her release from ICIW on Oct. 1, 2025, Doe saw a licensed social worker at in Council Bluffs and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, the lawsuit alleges.

Doe’s lawsuit seeks unspecified compensation for sexual exploitation and for violations of her constitutional rights through Whitlow “repeatedly sexually harassing and sexually assaulting her.”

The lawsuit also names as defendants DOC Director Beth Skinner and ICIW Warden Michelle Waddle, alleging they “should have known of the substantial risk of such sexual harassment and sexual assault” at the prison and that they “consciously disregarded that harm.”

Lawyers for the state, who say they do not comment on pending litigation, have yet to file a response to the lawsuit. The Iowa Capital Dispatch was not able to reach Whitlow for comment.

State records indicate Whitlow worked as a correctional counselor for the DOC since 2006, earning about $83,000 per year before his employment with the department ended in 2025.