Former WWE Hall of Famer Tammy Sytch, 52, who was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for a fatal DUI crash in 2022 has been moved from a detention center to the Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala.

“Lowell has a long history of tolerance for sexual abuse and harassment, which continues to the present,” the report said. “In interviews with the department prisoners spoke of sex between staff and prisoners as a regular event, suggesting a normalization of sexual abuse by staff. The report included graphic details of sexual abuse by staff at the prison. The investigation also revealed a pattern in which prisoners who report sexual abuse are placed in confinement or threatened with other retaliation. “It is particularly disturbing that supervisors are among the repeat perpetrators of sexual abuse at Lowell.

OCALA, Fla. – A Florida women’s prison has likely violated inmates’ constitutional rights by failing to protect them from sexual abuse by staff, federal investigators announced Tuesday. The Justice Department provided the prison with written notice and suggested minimum remedial measures that include installing additional video surveillance and adopting new policies to protect inmates, officials said. “Prison officials have a constitutional duty to protect prisoners from harm, including sexual abuse by staff,” Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Eric Dreiband said in a statement. The investigation found that sexual abuse by staff was frequent at Lowell and that the women remain at substantial risk, officials said. Prisoners are discouraged from reporting sexual abuse, and investigations of sexual abuse allegations are inadequate, investigators said.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Another three state prison inmates died of COVID-19 during the past week, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 187, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Florida Department of Corrections. In all, 16,999 state inmates and 3,647 corrections workers have tested positive for the infectious disease during the pandemic. Two prisons -- Columbia Correctional Institution and Lowell Correctional Institution -- have had more than 1,000 inmate cases. Seven prisons also have totaled more than 100 worker cases.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Another four Florida prison inmates have died of COVID-19, bringing the inmate death toll to 111, according to numbers released Tuesday by the state Department of Corrections. The information, as is common, did not disclose when or where the inmates died. But a state tally Friday showed 107 inmate deaths. The highly contagious virus has raced through Floridas prison system, with 15,672 inmates and 2,718 corrections workers testing positive as of Tuesday. The prisons with the largest numbers of inmate cases since the pandemic started are Columbia Correctional Institution, with 1,338; Lowell Correctional Institution, with 1,003; Mayo Annex, with 954; Suwannee Correctional Institution, with 818; Santa Rosa Correctional Institution, with 808; and Century Correctional Institution, with 771.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. With a major increase in infections reported Friday, nearly 11,000 state prison inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 and 63 have died, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. An additional 1,154 inmates had tested positive in numbers released Friday, bringing the overall total to 10,975. Also, the number of inmates who had died from the virus increased from 60 on Thursday to 63 on Friday. Prisons hit hardest by the virus are Columbia Correctional Institution, which has had 1,317 inmate cases; Lowell Correctional Institution, which has had 909; Santa Rosa Correctional Institution, which has had 793; Graceville Correctional Facility, which has had 656; and Taylor Correctional Institution, which has had 561, according to the department. Also, 1,946 corrections workers had tested positive as of mid-day Friday, up from 1,911 on Thursday.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Another 361 state prisoners have tested positive for COVID-19, with the inmate death toll reaching 60, according to information released Thursday by the Florida Department of Corrections. As of midday Thursday, 9,821 inmates had tested positive, up from 9,460 on Wednesday. Five prisons have had more than 500 inmate cases: Columbia Correctional Institution, Graceville Correctional Facility, Lowell Correctional Institution, Santa Rosa Correctional Institution and Taylor Correctional Institution. Of those facilities, Taylor Correctional had the largest increase Thursday, going from 453 cases to 501 cases. Also Thursday, the department reported that 1,911 corrections workers have tested positive.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. The Florida Department of Health on Wednesday said a dozen inmates died from complications of COVID-19 at eight prisons within the past week. Dade Correctional Institution, Everglades Correctional Institution, Lowell Correctional Institution and South Florida Reception Center each had two inmates die after testing positive for the disease. Columbia Correctional Institution, Florida Womens Reception Center, Graceville Correctional Institution and Wakulla Correctional Institution each had an inmate death. Santa Rosa Correctional Institution and Lowell Correctional Institution saw their caseloads increase by more than 100 overnight. Santa Rosa had 700 inmate cases and Lowell had 629 inmate cases as of Wednesday.