SPRINGFIELD -- A transgender woman is suing Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi and a deputy superintendent in federal court, alleging she was harassed, extorted and raped while an inmate at the Ludlow jail in 2016.

Jennifer E. Picknelly, who has since been transferred to the Hampshire County jail at her request, first filed a lawsuit in Hampden Superior Court arguing corrections officers fell short of protecting her while she was tormented by Latin Kings gang members and other inmates who called her "faggot" and a "shim." She was even harassed by some staff, according to her complaint.

The lawsuit includes a $100,000 demand. She previously sued the Hampshire County sheriff's department but that case was dropped.

Lawyers for Cocchi in court filings deny any staff abused Picknelly or called her names, and said the department did its best to protect her.

In a lengthy narrative, Picknelly, whose birth name was James R. Kelly before she legally changed it in 2015, said she was placed at the Hampden County jail in 2016 after being sentenced to two years for a probation violation.

Picknelly is representing herself in the lawsuit and has filed all of her own pleadings.

"It's not easy to find a lawyer who is willing to sue a county sheriff," Picknelly told a judge during a recent hearing in Springfield's federal courthouse.

By contrast, Cocchi and the sheriff's department's general counsel, Theresa Finnegan, said they made voluntary and progressive accommodations for Picknelly, including affording her a single cell, private shower time, access to women's commissary items such as cosmetics and bras, plus periodic transfers for her own safety and comfort.

"We never moved her somewhere and said like it or lump it," Cocchi said. "I feel very comfortable with how we've treated Jennifer and tried to be sensitive to her needs."

Also named in the lawsuit is Deputy Superintendent James Kelleher.

Finnegan said the department volunteered to adhere to federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards three years ago. The law dictates that corrections facilities must give "serious consideration" to transgender inmates' own views with respect to safety.

Unrelated to Picknelly's lawsuit, a 53-year-old transgender woman in November filed suit against the Massachusetts Department of Corrections over being housed in a male prison. The woman, identified as "Jane Doe" in her lawsuit, said she has been harassed by inmates and staff and has been strip-searched by male guards.

In 2012, Boston federal Judge Mark Wolf ruled that a transgender state prison inmate, Michelle Kosilek, previously named Robert Kosliek and convicted of killing his wife in 1990, was entitled to a taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgery. The controversial ruling was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014 and 2015.

A transgender California inmate was the first to received publicly funded sex-reassignment surgery and was transferred to a women's prison earlier this year.

Housing at a women's jail a transgender inmate who still has male anatomy presents a slippery slope for jail administrators, Cocchi said, as they also have to be mindful of potentially vulnerable female inmates, many of whom have suffered sexual abuse.

"You can create havoc by putting an inmate with male anatomy among females," said Cocchi, who is nearing his one-year milestone as Hampden County sheriff.

In her lawsuit, Picknelly said she is a transgender female with long hair and breasts who was raped a half-dozen times by the brother of her onetime boyfriend. By her own account, she had a complicated relationship with both. She identified the brother as a "known Latin King" with violent tendencies whom she once regarded as a protector behind bars. He then became a predator, Picknelly said.

She claims she was shaken down for commissary money by many inmates, targeted because she was a "transgender inmate who came from money."

It is unclear from the complaint what charges prompted Picknelly's incarceration.

Picknelly said in her complaint that she was raped multiple times at the jail by her boyfriend's brother. Both accused her of being a "rat bitch" and put a contract hit out on her, she said.

Jail officials failed to keep her separated from inmates who she identified as posing a threat to her, Picknelly alleged. The jail as a matter of policy maintains "enemies lists" to track and control the movements of inmates likely to come into conflict.

Cocchi said the investigation into Picknelly's rape complaint is pending and is being investigated by state police.

One investigator assigned to Picknelly's case asked her if her complaint didn't boil down to "a lovers' quarrel," according to her lawsuit.

A response to Pickelly's complaint in federal court disputes most of her grievances, including one that alleges a teacher at the jail called her a "faggot."

Finnegan said independent PREA auditors have given the department positive reviews since 2014.

Audit results published on the department's website reported zero "non-consenual acts" for 2016, one substantiated "abusive sex act" and eight collectively unfounded or unsubstantiated the same year, plus three substantiated sexual harassment acts and four unsubstantiated.

Finnegan also said PREA auditors reviewed Picknelly's complaints specifically and concluded the department had gone to proper lengths to accommodate her.

Finnegan said there have been 10 self-reported transgender inmates since the facility began tracking the numbers, most of whom have been transgender females -- meaning biological males who identify as female.

In federal court, Picknelly told U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine Robertson she expects to be released by January and plans to relocate to Florida.

Her hope, Picknelly told Robertson, is to settle the case before trial.

"I don't think it's going to make it to trial because I just want to get on with my life," she told the judge.