Three more women have signed onto a federal lawsuit against the Maine Department of Corrections for allowing transgender prisoners to be housed in facilities that align with their gender identity.

First brought by Katie Mountain in April, the lawsuit now includes Jennifer Albert, Michaela Sargent and Danielle Foster, who say they live in fear at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham because of the department’s policy.

According to the lawsuit, the women have been sexually assaulted, threatened and repeatedly harassed by several transgender prisoners, including Andrea Balcer, who Mountain says caused “extreme physical and psychological distress.”

Balcer is serving a 40-year sentence for the murder of both parents in 2017.

Mountain, who was housed with Balcer when she began serving a 10-month sentence in January, alleges that while bunking together, Balcer subjected her to “graphic sexual stories, trapped her in a bathroom, pushed her against the wall, forcibly kissed her, and made repeated threats of rape and impregnation.”

Sargent describes waking up to Balcer stroking her hair and saying, “if you don’t wake up it’s because I smothered you with a pillow.” She also alleges that Balcer once grabbed her shirt and demanded, “show me your boobs.”

Attorney Cynthia Dill, who represents the plaintiffs, said in a press release that when the women reported the abuse or refused to affirm Balcer’s gender identity, they were met with retaliation by being placed in segregation, being denied hygiene supplies and medication and losing eligibility for early release.

In their lawsuit, the women argue that the policy mandates gender affirmation with “deliberate indifference to the safety, privacy and civil rights of women incarcerated in the State of Maine.” They say “gender identity” first made its way into Maine laws that govern corrections in 2021.

The plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction against the gender identity law and related state correctional policies along with damages.

Jill O’Brien, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Corrections, said in a statement that the department takes residents’ safety concerns very seriously.

“Anytime a resident makes a report of physical or sexual violence or harassment to staff, the Department investigates,” O’Brien said. “If the conduct that occurred rises to the level of a crime, it is referred to the District Attorney for prosecution. If it violates the Department’s disciplinary policy, the residents involved are disciplined.”

O’Brien added that information about specific residents is confidential and information about specific residents is confidential.

This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.

The typical home in Maine’s largest city costs nearly $300,000 more than it would have a decade ago, a new study revealed.

Median home prices in Portland surged from $263,000 to $558,000 over the past 10 years, according to an analysis of nationwide real estate data from Construction Coverage. That’s a 112% spike in the last decade, earning the city the 85th spot among all small U.S. cities ranked by housing price growth.

Meanwhile, the median Maine home cost about $193,000 in 2016 and $407,000 in 2026. That 111% growth makes Maine the state with the third highest real estate price jump over the last decade.

The report reveals that Maine’s housing has not only become unaffordable to most people in the state, but that Mainers are feeling the pressure of rising home prices more than almost every other state while wages have struggled to keep up. Nationwide, home values jumped more than 81% in the last decade.

The report includes data from Zillow, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

While median housing prices across the state rose 110% over the last 10 years, median household income rose by 53%. It shows that many Mainers aren’t able to afford the rising costs.

The Maine Housing Outlook Report, released in January by MaineHousing, noted housing prices outpacing wages as an “ongoing concern.”

“In 2015, the median income in Maine exceeded by 21% what was needed to afford the median home price in the state. In other words, an average earner could afford an average home,” the report stated. “This is no longer the case.”

Only Idaho and New Hampshire have seen housing prices grow more than Maine, according to the analysis.

Idaho saw the highest jump, as median property values rose 137% to surpass $473,000 this year when the same home there would’ve cost just under $200,000 in 2016.

In New Hampshire, median home prices rose more than $270,000 over the last 10 years to $507,000 this year — a 114% spike.

Meanwhile, median household income in Idaho and New Hampshire climbed by 64% and 50%, respectively, during the same period.