A prisoner at HMP Liverpool, Walton, was placed on suicide watch after being raped at knifepoint inside the prison.
The claims were revealed at a hearing a Liverpool Crown Court when a barrister claimed the defendant was attacked at the prison.
When detailing the incident, the defendants barrister claimed that the victim cried when he revealed the incident to him and had been left “a very frightened man”.
The barrister also told the court that the man had to be escorted by staff through certain parts of the prison due to inmates showing hostility towards him.
For legal reasons, the victim can not be named however the incident was believed to have taken place earlier this month.
The Ministry of Justice are said to be aware of the claims and have referred the matter to Merseyside Police.
Following an unannounced inspection in September, Walton Prison was given a one out of five – the lowest possible score. The report saw the then governor, Peter Francis, removed for operational reasons and the NHS trust that provided healthcare to the prison, pulled out of it’s contract.
The prison has come under harsh criticism after a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) described conditions in the prison as “the worst they’ve ever seen”.