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Source: ONE News
A New York man who says a rat bit his penis while he was in jail may sue prison officials.
Peter Solomon, 54, said he later had to endure a course of rabies injections, and says prison guards were well aware the area they had placed him in was over-run with rats.
He claims he was deliberately mistreated because he is black.
The BBC reports that lawyers for the prison in Nassau County are seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed, partly because experts said they saw no evidence of serious injury.
Solomon had been remanded in prison in 2007 on a charge of menacing his wife.
Later, the Vietnam veteran was transferred to a medical observation unit because of concerns over his mental health.
The BBC reports that it was then Solomon said a rat "or similar rodent" made its way through a hole in the mattress, biting him on the penis hard enough to draw blood.
Solomon's case against the prison officials is that they failed to protect him, and he has sued for damages.
County officials have said they were unaware of the rat problem, and disputed it even existed.
However a judge has ruled that the lawsuit may proceed.
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