Jail Rape Verdict – A Jury Awards an Inmate $6.7 Million in a Rape Case Allegedly Involving a Jail Guard
On Wednesday, June 7, 2017, a woman was awarded $6.7 million by a jury in association with her allegedly being sexually assaulted by a guard when she was an inmate at the Milwaukee County Jail. When the alleged repeated rapes occurred, the guard was on paid duty and on the job at the jail. The jury determined that Milwaukee County is, therefore, responsible to pay the damages.
There were other charges involved that did not result in a monetary award. Namely, the woman sued because she was shackled when she was going through labor and childbirth at the jail. This is a regular practice at the facility, and the jurors said they don’t think the government has a legitimate purpose for shackling women in labor. However, they also did not find that the woman was injured to the extent that monetary damages were appropriate. The woman was already pregnant in early 2013, when she was booked into the jail.
The woman is not being identified by name, since she is a rape victim. She was 19 years old at the time that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted. She said that she thinks the jurors delivered justice with their verdict. She also hopes that her case will help protect other inmates from becoming rape victims during their time of incarceration.
During the trial, the woman told the jury that she encountered her alleged perpetrator in different locations in the jail, where he assaulted her. The accused was fired from his job. Although the charge brought against the former jail guard was sexual assault, he pled guilty to a lesser charge.
–Guest Contributor
smchugh
smchugh