The County: sexual assault and the price of silence

[marmar]

from the Guardian UK:


The County: sexual assault and the price of silence
How law enforcement officers in Kern County, California, secretly tried to ‘buy off’ victims in sexual misconduct cases against the men sworn to protect them

by Oliver Laughland and Jon Swaine in Bakersfield, California.


They promised Karen Frye she would not be sexually assaulted again. The wire she was wearing and the secret video camera planted inside a hollowed-out Bible in her jail cell would be enough to catch her abuser before he could touch her, the officers said. But they were wrong.

Frye, a longtime drug user awaiting trial in Kern County’s notorious Lerdo jail, alleged she had been repeatedly abused by deputy Anthony Lavis, her jailer. She had initially kept quiet, terrified of the repercussions for reporting him. Fearing for the safety of other vulnerable inmates, however, she finally told another deputy of the attacks during a hospital visit.

The sting was supposed to put a stop to it all. But investigating officers did not reach her in time.

“He came inside and pushed me against the wall and pulled down my pants, and that’s when they pulled some kind of alarm,” Frye said, struggling as she recalled the details. “He got out quick, but not until I was assaulted again.” The next day, Frye was taken to the sheriff’s office in Bakersfield and offered a $1,500 cash payment in return for waiving her right to sue. .......................(more)

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/08/the-county-kern-county-california-sexual-assault-secret-payoffs