PORTLAND — A federal magistrate judge is recommending a lawsuit filed by a Maine State Prison inmate who is alleging the Department of Corrections did not adequately prescribe treatment for gender dysphoria be decided in favor of the corrections department and its medical provider, Correctional Care Solutions.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John Nivison said while the record suggests that the plaintiff isn’t satisfied with the course of treatment, the demand for injunctive relief is moot because an assessment has been made and hormone treatments are being administered.

The individual referred to in court documents as Walter M. Moore and Nikki Natasha Petrovickov had filed a federal lawsuit against the corrections department in 2016.

Petrovickov, when known as Moore, was sentenced to 60 years in prison in February 2005 for the 2002 killing of Connie Gagliardi, 41.

Gagliardi’s body was found tied between two trees, with her wrists and throat cut, in the Rachel Carson Refuge in Saco on Sept. 7, 2002. Both were of Salem, Massachusetts, and Moore had been staying with Gagliardi, police said at the time. The pair had traveled together to Maine by train; Moore returned to Massachusetts the following day. Moore had originally pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but made a plea change to guilty three days into the trial.

According to documents filed by Judge Nivison on Jan. 18, Petrovickov, “identifies as a transgendered individual, born biologically a male but identifying as a female.”

Prior to commencement of the 60-year sentence in February 2005, Petrovickov was provided hormones for gender dysphoria, but those ceased upon incarceration at the Maine State Prison, according to the court documents.

That changed in 2008 when Petrovickov was sent to Riverview Psychiatric Hospital, where hormones were prescribed, but then discontinued upon her return to the prison. According to the court documents, prison staff deferred to the department’s contracted medical staff regarding the necessity of medical treatment and the type of treatment prescribed.

In 2015, the DOC adopted a policy that created protocols for the assessment, placement, management and treatment of prisoners with gender dysphoria in a number of areas, including medical treatment.

On Dec. 15, 2015, a team composed of prison staff, medical providers, and mental health providers convened to make recommendations for Petrovickov. At that time, the prison’s medical director said hormones had not been prescribed because the inmate did not have an underlying medical condition that required medical treatment, according to the court documents. The team met to discuss the issue four times in 2016; three in 2017 and twice in 2018.

On one occasion, a psychiatrist said Petrovickov did mot meet the diagnostic criteria for gender dysphoria, but would reassess as more information became available.

Petrovickov initiated the lawsuit on July 29. 2016.

On Sept. 19, 2017, the doctors advised members of the team that Petrovickov had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and that hormone treatment would be started.

On January 11, 2018, they reported that treatment had begun, though the plaintiff was not satisfied with the type or dosage of the medication.

Petrovickov had sought monetary damages because she claimed she was improperly denied or discontinued medication and had asked for an assessment and treatment.

The Department of Corrections contended the plaintiff had not exhausted available administrative efforts, as required.

Petrovickov, according to court documents, alleged “there is a known pattern of obstructions of prisoners’ grievance rights, and that some materials had disappeared. Nivison wrote that Petrovickov had not presented any evidence that the DOC made any misrepresentations about the grievance process, made any threats or otherwise intimidated her, or destroyed any records, and so that claim was barred.

Parties may file objections within 14 days of being served with a copy of the recommendation.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.