Brian Dunn, managing partner and lead civil rights attorney with the Cochran Firm, which brought the case on behalf of 38 women in late October, said in an interview that dozens of inmates shared \u201cchilling\u201d allegations of \u201cbrazen\u201d sexual abuse and harassment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seemed to be happening with such frequency that it was like a practice. … This is something that has been accepted,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s heartbreaking for me to hear these women crying and the only thing you can do is sue.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sheriff\u2019s Department said in a statement that, after learning about Dunn\u2019s lawsuit, it \u201cinitiated a review of the claims to ensure that all appropriate investigative and administrative processes were followed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe safety, dignity, and constitutional rights of every individual in our custody remain our top priority,\u201d the department added. \u201cWe are committed to transparent operations, thorough investigations, and maintaining the highest standards of professional conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n
The civil complaint filed in the Central District of California says abuses occurred in the Lynwood jail\u2019s administrative segregation unit, also known as \u201cthe hole.\u201d The lawsuit claims women were often sent there for disciplinary purposes \u2014 and that deputies would watch as they showered nude. The suit says the practice violates a federal law called the Prison Rape Elimination Act, which prohibits \u201ccross-gender viewing\u201d by staff. <\/p>\n
The complaint alleges a \u201csystemic and ongoing practice which concerns the cross-gender viewing of completely nude female inmates by male correctional officers.\u201d <\/p>\n
It describes an area next to the shower stalls referred to by inmates and deputies as the \u201ccop shop,\u201d from which male correctional officers \u201croutinely engage in frequent and prolonged unobstructed viewing of the entire nude bodies of female inmates taking showers.\u201d<\/p>\n
While escorting women to the stalls, the complaint states, male guards allegedly \u201cintentionally press their crotches against the handcuffed hands of the female inmates … and intentionally fondle the inmates\u2019 hips, buttocks, and bodies in a sexual manner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deputies \u201croutinely and intentionally set the water temperature at a scalding or near-scalding level,\u201d the complaint added, \u201cwhich forces the female inmates taking showers to move hurriedly and squirm erratically\u201d and \u201coften results in the female inmates\u2019 breasts jiggling and wiggling demonstrably in full view of the male correctional officers in the adjacent \u2018cop shop.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Interior of Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood in December.<\/p>\n
(Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
The Sheriff\u2019s Department said in a statement that \u201c[t]here is an ongoing inquiry into the claims\u201d and that it \u201cmaintains a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of sexual abuse or harassment within its facilities.\u201d <\/p>\n
The statement added that it \u201ctakes all allegations of sexual misconduct, abuse of authority, and violations of Department policy extremely seriously.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Sybil Brand Commission, the independent oversight body for L.A. County\u2019s jails, has documented similar complaints from female inmates in recent months. <\/p>\n
The commission, which performs inspections on unannounced visits to the jails, said in an October report<\/a> that multiple inmates \u201callege a deputy observes women showering from the lower level, escorts women while leaving them exposed in shower, and makes them wait unclothed before returning to their cells. Fear of retaliation deters reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n Commission Chair Haley Broder described the inmates as \u201csome of the most vulnerable women on earth. They can\u2019t do anything; they\u2019re locked in cells and being retaliated against if they report it.\u201d<\/p>\n Defendants in the federal lawsuit include L.A. County, Sheriff Robert Luna and three of his predecessors, and a dozen jail staffers.<\/p>\n The Sheriff\u2019s Department said in a statement that two deputies named in the lawsuit \u201care actively working,\u201d with one now at Men\u2019s Central Jail and another still in Lynwood. <\/p>\n One of the two men previously worked as the Prison Rape Elimination Act compliance manager at the women\u2019s jail, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n Last month, The Times reported<\/a> that out of 592 inmate claims of sexual abuse or harassment by deputies filed since 2021, none were deemed \u201csubstantiated\u201d by Sheriff\u2019s Department investigators.<\/p>\n Over that period, according to a review of D.A.\u2019s office records by The Times, the Sheriff\u2019s Department referred none of those cases to L.A. County prosecutors, who decide whether there is enough evidence to file charges.<\/p>\n \u201cThe DA\u2019s office has brought no cases against sheriff\u2019s deputies for sexual assault crimes committed against inmates\u201d since 2021, the office confirmed in an email. It added that it is \u201cnot aware of any such cases recently presented by LASD for filing consideration involving deputies accused of sexually assaulting inmates.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sheriff\u2019s Department said in a statement that since 2021 it has sent nine cases for review by either its Internal Affairs or Internal Criminal Investigation bureaus, all of which \u201care still being actively investigated.\u201d It added that \u201c[o]nce a criminal investigation is completed, investigators will present the case to the District Attorney\u2019s Office for filing consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n The department has acted against at least one deputy in response to an inmate\u2019s claims of sexual misconduct in recent years. In November 2023, deputy Jonathan Tejada Paredes was arrested<\/a> on suspicion that he sexually assaulted an inmate while he was working in the women\u2019s jail in Lynwood. <\/p>\n But court records show that no county or federal charges have been filed against Tejada Paredes. The D.A.\u2019s office said it \u201chas not received this matter for charging consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacqueline Sparagna, an attorney for Tejada Paredes, denied any wrongdoing by her client and confirmed that he has not been charged. She added that while the government goes out of its way to thoroughly investigate allegations against law enforcement officers, \u201cthere are likely problems with the\u201d Paredes case, such as a lack of corroborating evidence or credibility questions.<\/p>\n Asked about the status of the claim against Tejada Paredes, the Sheriff\u2019s Department said an \u201cinvestigation is currently ongoing.\u201d <\/p>\n In the past, the Sheriff\u2019s Department has referred a number of cases of deputies accused by inmates of sexual assault for prosecution. For instance, Giancarlo Scotti, who worked at the Lynwood women\u2019s jail, was charged<\/a> by the D.A.\u2019s office in 2018 with assaulting six inmates there after being arrested<\/a> and placed on administrative leave by the Sheriff\u2019s Department the prior year while the department investigated the allegations.<\/p>\n In 2019, court records show Scotti pleaded no contest to six counts of sexual activity with an inmate, ward or parolee. A judge sentenced him to two years in state custody, with a recommendation that his term be served in a state fire camp.<\/p>\n A review of county records shows that the Sheriff\u2019s Department has referred a number of deputies for prosecution on sexual abuse charges since 2021 \u2014 just not in cases with inmates as alleged victims. <\/p>\n Last year, according to a D.A.\u2019s office memo, the office declined to bring criminal charges against a correctional officer after a Sheriff\u2019s Department investigation found he had allegedly committed sexual battery against a female colleague at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in 2022. The D.A.\u2019s memo cited questions about whether the deputy\u2019s conduct constituted sexual battery, the alleged victim\u2019s response and whether there was enough evidence to corroborate her claims.<\/p>\n The lack of transparency around how jail sexual abuse claims are investigated has raised alarms among local watchdogs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe public is not getting the truth from the Sheriff\u2019s Department. We deserve real, accurate data about people being raped or assaulted in our jails, not hogwash,\u201d said Hans Johnson, chair of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission.<\/p>\n