"Sexual Assault After Naked Body Search"
A court ruling has ordered $5.6 million (7.5 billion KRW) in damages to be paid to a woman who was strip-searched and sexually assaulted while visiting her husband incarcerated in a California prison.
According to the Associated Press on the 9th (local time), a California court ruled that the correctional authorities and prison officers must pay Christina Cardenas $5.6 million. The court ordered the correctional authorities to pay $3.6 million of the settlement amount, while the remaining $2 million is to be paid by two prison officers and one doctor.
Cardenas filed a lawsuit against the correctional authorities, claiming that she was strip-searched and sexually assaulted while visiting her husband, who was incarcerated at the Tehachapi prison in California, on September 6, 2019.
In her complaint, Cardenas alleged that prison officials conducted a strip search, subjected her to drug and pregnancy tests, hospital X-rays and CT scans, and that she was sexually assaulted by a male doctor. Cardenas stated, "My motivation for pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the serious crimes that I experienced."
Prison officials argued that the search was conducted based on a warrant. However, the warrant specified that clothing could only be removed and a search conducted if contraband items potentially smuggled on Cardenas’s body were detected through X-rays. No such items were found in the X-rays and CT scans. She reported being treated like a criminal, including being handcuffed while traveling to the hospital, and being denied water and bathroom use during the search process. Furthermore, despite no contraband being found on her person or belongings, Cardenas was denied visitation with her husband.
Previously, Cardenas had also been subjected to a strip search when visiting the prison to marry her husband, and on September 6, 2019, although not to the same extent as the incident, she reportedly continued to face difficulties during her visit. Her husband remains in custody.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
