Sarasota's Ashley Benefield Sent to Lowell Correctional Prison Hell on Earth to Serve 20 Years for Manslaughter Guards Known to Rape & Beat Prisoners

As of February 2026, Ashley Benefield is serving her 20-year manslaughter sentence at Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida. She was transferred to this facility, often referred to as "Lowell Hell Hole," after a February 2026 incident involving an alleged assault on a correctional officer at the Homestead Correctional prison, which placed her in disciplinary confinement. 

Ashley Benefield is going to have a hard time at Lowell prison after the word gets out that she committed a battery on a guard, she probably shoved the guard who got a little too friendly with her. Ashley Benefield aka Ashley Byers aka "Christina Alessia", convicted of Manslaughter with a Firearm 1st Degree has been transferred to Lowell Women's Prison (hell on earth) near Ocala Fl for violent offenders to serve her 20 year sentence. 

INVESTIGATION OF THE LOWELL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION – FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS (OCALA, FLORIDA). United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division United States Attorney’s Office Middle District of Florida. Specifically, the United States provides notice that the State of Florida, through the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC), fails to keep female prisoners at Lowell prison safe from sexual abuse by staff. FDOC has documented and been aware of a pattern or practice of staff sexual abuse of Lowell female prisoners since at least 2006 through 2024. 

Florida’s cesspool: Lowell Women's Correctional, where guards get a pass for raping women. The Justice Department excoriated Florida Corrections, having found that officers at Lowell, one of the largest women's prisons in the nation, have “raped, sodomized, beaten and choked female inmates. Florida Statutes Convicted at trial, Ashley Benefield aka Ashley Byers aka "Christina Alessia", of Manslaughter with a Firearm 1st Degree and sent to Lowell Correctional. Despite being on notice of this sexual abuse, FDOC and Lowell prison failed to take timely action to remedy the systemic problems that have enabled corrections officers and other staff to continue to sexually abuse Lowell female prisoners. "Hell on Earth", Lowell Correctional Institution, Florida's largest women's prison, faces severe heat issues, with many dorms lacking air conditioning. While some areas have cooling, the majority of the facility is not air-conditioned, summer is upcoming in Florida.

"Way Too Pretty for Lowell Prison": Swimsuit Model and former professional dancer Ashley Benefield aka Ashley Byers, 35, Guilty Gets 20 Years for Manslaughter, she has been sent to Lowell correctional prison for women, hell on earth. Given the max sentence of 20 years for manslaughter with a firearm. Ashley Benefield aka Ashley Byers is a well known swimsuit model, she was featured on the cover of Fashion Magazine Issue 1 in December 2015, which led to several other fashion/swimsuit photo assignments. Ashley Benefield aka Ashley Byers still has/had an active account at ModelMayhem.com under the name "Christina Alessia" as of July 23rd 2024.

Ashley Benefield Sent to Lowell Correctional Women's Prison. As documented in this Notice, Lowell female prisoners have suffered harm from sexual abuse and are at substantial risk of serious harm because existing systems discourage prisoners from reporting sexual abuse and fail to effectively detect and deter sexual abuse. Between 2017 and the present, Lowell prison sergeants, corrections officers, and other staff have committed notorious acts of sexual abuse, including rape, against prisoners. For example, in July 2020, a sergeant was arrested and charged with sexual misconduct after he admitted to engaging in oral sex with a Lowell female prisoner in the maintenance room of a prisoner dormitory as recently as April 2020. That same sergeant had been accused in 2017 of sexually abusing a different prisoner, causing lesions on the prisoner’s throat from oral sex, and then retaliating against the prisoner when she refused his sexual advances. Even though FDOC verified the prisoner’s injuries, FDOC never completed the investigation for the 2017 incident, and the Lowell officer remained employed until his arrest in July 2020. 

It is common for Lowell officers to grope prisoners, including their buttocks and breasts; bribe prisoners with contraband including drugs, cigarettes, food, and makeup in exchange for sex; comment on prisoners’ bodies using crude sexual language and names; compel prisoners into ongoing abusive sexual “relationships;” watch prisoners as they use the toilet or shower, and when changing clothes, without justification; and threaten Lowell female prisoners with solitary confinement if they report sexual abuse. A 2019 incident in which a lieutenant at Lowell prison “accused repeatedly of sexually abusing multiple prisoners” allegedly slammed inmate Cheryl Weimar to the concrete floor and kicked her, leaving her paralyzed with a broken neck. “In August 2020, (the Florida Department of Corrections) settled a lawsuit related to the prisoner’s paralysis for $4.65 million.” In 2010, the Lowell Correctional Institution Annex completed a (1) 240-bed secure-cell housing unit. This dormitory houses inmates that the department has classified as security risks and require housing in cells instead of dormitory bunks. 

Miami Herald Sept 2022: Warden ignored staff rapes of female inmates.  At Lowell Correctional Institution, where the systemic rape of female inmates by male guards has been documented over years by the Miami Herald and drawn a sharp rebuke by the Justice Department, a newly filed lawsuit says the sexual abuse is as pervasive as ever. The inmate lawsuit, dated Sept. 1 and citing a litany of specific incidents, targets Stephen Rossiter, Lowell’s warden, as a defendant. It does not claim he engaged in sexual misconduct but that he exhibited “deliberate indifference to a widespread pattern of sexual and physical abuse.”

UNSOLVED MURDER AT LOWELL; Bernadette Gregory was getting out of prison in eight months and planning her wedding when she was found hanging in a cell at Florida's Lowell Correctional Institution. Prison authorities say Bernadette Gregory, 42, tied a double knot in a sheet, twisted it several times around her top bunk, looped the other end around her neck and hanged herself. Despite relying on a wheelchair to get around, she did all of this in 11 minutes - while she was handcuffed, a detail the Department of Corrections' investigative summary mentions only in passing. 

Inmate Bernadette Gregory's 2009 death is one of many that don't seem to add up but that have nevertheless been tucked away in the department's files, categorized as suicides, homicides, accidents or natural deaths. Bernadette Gregory (G05707) died on July 22, 2009 at Lowell Correctional Institution after having been threatened by guards. She had filed a complaint four days before her death re a beating by a Captain Greer. Linda Thompson, who was a fellow prisoner at Lowell, said that Bernadette Gregory, who was confined to a wheelchair via handcuffs, was beaten and kicked by guards on the day of her death.

Miami Herald Sept 2022: Warden ignored staff rapes of female inmates.  At Lowell Correctional Institution, where the systemic rape of female inmates by male guards has been documented over years by the Miami Herald and drawn a sharp rebuke by the Justice Department, a newly filed lawsuit says the sexual abuse is as pervasive as ever. The inmate lawsuit, dated Sept. 1 and citing a litany of specific incidents, targets Stephen Rossiter, Lowell’s warden, as a defendant. It does not claim he engaged in sexual misconduct but that he exhibited “deliberate indifference to a widespread pattern of sexual and physical abuse.” Ongoing Allegations of Female Prisoner Abuse at Lowell Correctional Institution, Prison. Lowell Correctional “Hell Hole” in Ocala Fl. There are multiple allegations male correctional officers (CO's) at Lowell C.I. of which about 65% are male are using threats of loss of gain time to coerce the female inmates into sex acts in the bathroom areas, claims private investigator Bill Warner. "I am no advocate for prison reform nor do I have any objections to Florida Judges imposing the harshest and longest prison time to fit the crime, but when those empowered to watch over and care for the incarcerated females become predators running a "good ole boy CO network" within the prison, it is time for a full blown investigation, said private investigator Bill Warner. 
The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida spent 2 1/2 years producing their Dec. 22, 2020 report, which alleged that “sexual abuse of women prisoners by Lowell corrections officers and staff is severe and prevalent throughout the prison.” What will prison be like for convicted murderer Ashley Benefield, who was thought to be a flight risk after her conviction? Lowell Annex: Houses close security and death row inmates, as well as an inmate reception center.

Florida Phoenix December 21, 2022: Two years after a Dec. 22, 2020 report revealed “notorious acts of sexual abuse, including rape, against prisoners” at the state’s largest and oldest women’s prison, federal officials made a return visit last week at Florida’s Lowell Correctional Institution to see if conditions have improved. The answer was no, according to prisoner rights advocates and attorneys who closely follow events at Lowell. “There are still instances of sexual abuse, and sure they’re aware of it. Are they turning their heads? Sure, they’re turning their heads,” says Laurette Philipsen, who served more than eight years at Lowell Correctional for grand theft and continues to stay in touch with current inmates there. She also is a volunteer member of Florida Cares, a prisoner rights advocacy group. “The (U.S.) Justice Department needs to come down hard on them, without a doubt. It’s two years since this report was published and still nothing has changed,” Philipsen told the Florida Phoenix in a phone interview.

December 3rd, 2024, Florida Statutes Convicted at trial, Ashley Benefield aka Ashley Byers aka "Christina Alessia", of Manslaughter with a Firearm 1st Degree she was sent to Lowell Women's Prison near Ocala Fl for violent offenders to serve her 20 year sentence. Ashley Benefield will be subject to 10 years of State Felony Probation after she is finally released in 2044 from State prison. December 5th is Ashley Benefield's birthday, she will be about 53 years old when she is released from State prison. Florida’s cesspool: is Lowell Correctional, where guards get a pass for raping women. The Justice Department excoriated Florida Corrections, having found that officers at Lowell, one of the largest women's prisons in the nation, have “raped, sodomized, beaten and choked female inmates.


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Al Haramain Islamic Foundation supported al-Qaeda linked to Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs (Imams) before 9/11 headed by Sheikh Saleh Al al-Sheikh

The Al Haramain Islamic Foundation (AHIF), based in Saudi Arabia, was a prominent NGO with deep links to the Saudi government, including the Ministry of Islamic Affairs (MIOA), before being dissolved following international accusations of funding terrorism. The Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs (Imams) was an international spy agency that supported al-Qaeda in the US prior to the September 11th, 2001 terror attacks. The foundation was widely considered a private, yet state-sanctioned, organization with leaders holding official or close roles with Saudi authorities, including the Ministry of Islamic Affairs (Imams & Mosques). Al Haramain Islamic Foundation supported al-Qaeda it linked to Ministry of Islamic Affairs (Imams) before 9/11 headed by Sheikh Saleh Al al-Sheikh aka Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh. In January 2018, Saleh al-Ash-Sheikh called for the defense of a Muslim Jerusalem, (ANTI JEWISH and publicly stated his support for the Palestinian cause (TERRORISM) and supportive of Sharia (Islamic Law) system of government. Oct, 2003 article; "The formal Saudi position on suicide bombings, in fact, has been mixed. Saudi Arabia’s Minister for Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Saleh al-Sheikh, has condoned them: “The suicide bombings are permitted…the victims are considered to have died a martyr’s death.” According to a Washington Institute for Near East Policy article, Sheikh Saleh al-Sheikh was named the "superintendent of all foundation activities" for the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation. Sheikh Salen al-Sheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs condoned Al Haramain’s involvement in terrorist activities.

U.S. FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES DETERMINED THAT SAUDI ARABIA’S GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED AND SUPPORTED A
SUNNI-WAHHABI (IMAMS) EXTREMIST NETWORK (MOIA) INSIDE THE U.S. THAT PROVIDED MATERIAL SUPPORT TO THE 9/11 HIJACKERS. The 2004 FBI/CIA Joint Assessment cited efforts by “suspected Saudi intelligence officers and cooptees” and “Saudi-funded clerics (Imams)” to obtain intelligence inside the U.S. A fundamental tenet of Wahhabism is the duty of all Muslims to wage “jihad” against the perceived “enemies” of Islam. As a third example, a 1995 official publication of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs (MOIA) found at the King Fahad Mosque in Los Angeles after the 9/11 Attacks contains a sermon of Saudi Sheikh bin al-Uthaymeen preaching the policy that all non-Muslims should be put to death. Saudi Arabia’s religious leaders (including its Ministry of Islamic Affairs) are not “quietist” or peaceful in their religious beliefs, despite Saudi Arabia’s highly misleading and incorrect assertions. 

Saudi Arabia’s policy to allow MOIA to operate without restriction outside of Saudi Arabia is demonstrated by a February 1999 letter sent by the MOIA’s Washington, D.C., Embassy Head Khalid Al Sowailem to Ministry of Islamic Affairs (MOIA) Propagator in San Diego, Omar Abdi Mohamed (“Abdi Mohamed” aka Omar Al Khatib). The letter spells out an “advisory” to MOIA Propagators, directing them not to solicit any donations inside Saudi Arabia without proper authority. Saleh bin Abdul-Aziz Al al-Sheikh (born 1959) is a Saudi cleric who served as the minister of Islamic affairs (MOIA), endowments, call and guidance of Saudi Arabia between 1996 and 2014, and again since 2015. The letter states that “collecting funds inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is subject to certain regulations that must be observed.” By contrast, no restrictions or safeguards were placed by MOIA on fundraising activities inside the U.S., and MOIA propagators in the U.S. (including Abdi Mohamed himself) were actively involved in collecting funds for a variety of extremist groups. 

The Al Haramain Islamic Foundation (AHIF) was part of a series of large-scale law enforcement raids that occurred on March 20, 2002, involving over 150 agents from the Customs Service, IRS, and FBI. While major AHIF operations were famously raided in Ashland, Oregon, the specific search in the Falls Church area targeted associated entities and individuals in a broad investigation into potential money laundering for terrorist groups. Investigations found direct links between AHIF and Osama bin Laden, with allegations that the organization was used as a front for fundraising and operational activities. The September 11 Joint Intelligence Report by the U.S. Congress disclosure of what the U.S. press called “incontrovertible evidence” linking Saudis to the financing of al-Qaeda operatives in the United States.

The Treasury Department stated that when viewed as a single entity, Al-Haramain was one of the principal NGOs active throughout the world providing support for the Al-Qaeda network. The FBI/CIA found that: Two Saudi cabinet members officially supervise [Al Haramain’s] activities. The Minister of Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz Bin Mohammed Bin Ibrahim Al Shaykh aka Saleh Al al-Sheikh aka Saleh Bin Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh was the titular head and superintendent of Al Haramain. The foundation is part of the Saudi Joint Relief Committee, which is headed by the Minister of Interior, Prince Nayif bin Abdul-Aziz al-Sau’d, a member of the Saudi royal family and head of Mabahith. The three most prominent of the terrorism support charities were the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO; an offshoot of the Muslim World League), the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, and the Charitable Foundations of al-Haramain. All three are known by various global intelligence organizations of terrorist funding, these Saudi charities were full-fledged GOs – governmental organizations.

San Diego spy Omar al-Bayoumi and Sarasota spy Abdulaziz al-Hijji who 'assisted' the 9/11 hijackers while in the USA were Saudi GIP agents working for GIP boss Prince Turki Al-Faisal in 1999, 2000, and 2001 up to Sept 11th, 2001. A 2017 FBI assessment identified al-Bayoumi as a co-optee of the Saudi General Intelligence Presidency, the agency headed by Prince Turki in 1999 and 2000 and 2001 up to Sept 1st, 2001 when 9/11 hijackers were in San Diego CA. In September 2025 a Sunday London Times investigation revealed that the FBI did not inform the London Metropolitan Police that the American investigation into San Diego spy Omar al-Bayoumi from 1998-99 concluded that he was working for Saudi intelligence the same GIP run by Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Bayoumi was a paid operative of the GIP.

Omar al-Bayoumi was arrested in Birmingham days after the 9/11 atrocity. But police were never given crucial evidence by the FBI. The declassified FBI Operation Encore materials portrayed Saudi spy Omar Bayoumi not as an innocent bystander but as someone deeply tied to Musaed al-Jarrah head of Saudi Religious Ministry (Imams) and possibly Saudi intelligence networks with Ziyad Khaleel in America. It references a 2017 assessment by the FBI’s Arabian Peninsula Squad, which had concluded Omar Bayoumi was a “co-optee” of the Saudi General Intelligence Presidency, its secret service, he was a spy. It found the assistance given to 9/11 hijackers Hazmi and Mihdhar was consistent with a co-ordinated terrorist support operation, rather than a series of chance encounters, and involved individuals with official connections to Saudi Arabia.

Documents Released By FBI reveal Nationwide Saudi Imam network that supported 9/11 hijackers. Lawyers for relatives of 9/11 victims claim that a group of extremist religious leaders (Imams) in Saudi Arabia and in America aided the 9/11 hijackers who flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 11 September 2001. Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah, and Guidance (MOIA) this government ministry oversees Islam-related affairs, manages and regulates mosques, Imams and prayer halls. In the late 1990's and early 2000's Musaed Al-Jarrah was the head of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs he traveled the US and kept in contact with Imam's (Holy Men - Clerics) who he supervised and assigned to various locations to continue the spread of Wahhabism, strict fundamentalist Islam. Musaed Al-Jarrah would have had direct contact with Imams linked to al-Qaeda like Anwar al-Awlaki terminated in 2011 by CIA-DOD opp he was born in New Mexico and a U.S. citizen, Omar Mohamed arrested December 19, 2003. Sarasota Imam Muneer Arafat arrested in November 2002 by FBI and ICE agents and shipped off to a Grand Jury Investigation in St Louis. 

I went on local TV, ABC affiliate in Sarasota, Florida, is WWSB-TV, branded ABC 7 News Sarasota with news anchor Hayley Wielgus way back in Sept 2011 (15 years ago) to expose Imam Muneer Arafat and his links to Al-Qaeda agents, see ABC 7 video. I have claimed and posted numerous articles about Saudi funded Ministry of Islamic Affairs Imams who where living in Florida and California supporting the Al-Qaeda hijackers prior to the September 11th 2001 terror attacks, and have done so since March of 2002 when I partnered with Federal Law Enforcement. Terry Strada is National Chair for the 9/11 Families United, lawyers for relatives of 9/11 victims say a group of extremist religious leaders in Saudi Arabia aided the 9/11 hijackers who flew planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. Based on declassified FBI records, congressional investigations, and investigative journalism, the individuals listed below have been identified as part of a network of religious figures and operatives linked to al-Qaeda or to the support structure of the 9/11 hijackers, often with financial ties to the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs (MOIA). Names like Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, Ziyad Khaleel, Imam Fahad Thumairy, Imam Osama Bassnan, Imam Muneer Arafat, Omar Bayoumi, MOIA Imam boss Musaed Al-Jarrah, Imam Omar Abdi Mohamed, have all been linked to the Saudi funded Ministry of Islamic Affairs or Al-Qaeda and in some cases both!  

Saudi funded Ministry of Islamic Affairs was funded and directly linked to Al Haramain Islamic Foundation which was convicted of supporting Al-Qaeda prior to 9/11. Imam Muneer Arafat and Al-Qeada agent Ziyad Khaleel and Saudi MOIA official Mutaib al-Sudairy were all roommates at one time or another in Columbia MO from 1998 to 2000, small world, eh? 

Sarasota Private Investigator Bill Warner, True Crime Stories, Bill Warner Investigations Sarasota Fl.