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US Government Pays $475,000 for Illegally Searching Woman's Vagina

posted by martyb on Friday July 29 2016, @08:38PM   
from the and-many-other-things dept.

n1 writes:

SovereignMan.com has an article regarding a woman's interaction with US Customs and Border Protection:

According to the published case files, she was frisked, and then ordered to squat so that a drug-sniffing dog could check out her nether regions.

Apparently the dog liked what he smelled, because Ms. Doe was then taken to yet another room, ordered to pull down her pants, and crouch.

At that point an agent from Customs and Border Protection "inspected her anus with a flashlight."

She was then ordered to lean backwards in a crouched position, after which another agent inserted a speculum into her vagina to search for drugs.

Another agent then "parted Ms. Doe's vulva with her hand, pressed her fingers into Ms. Doe's vagina, and visually examined her genitalia with a flashlight."

They then took her to a hospital for a further 6 hours of involuntary testing, which included forcing her to have a bowel movement as they all watched, plus X-rays, CT scans, and more.

[...] Ms. Doe was "brutally probed against her will" for hours and hours without judicial oversight, due process, or even reasonable suspicion. And they found nothing.

[...] They told her that if she signed a consent form, retroactively giving her permission to be abused and violated, that the government would pay for all the tests and various medical expenses.

But if she didn't sign the consent form, she'd have to pay for them all herself.

Ms. Doe refused to sign, and the United States government sent her a bill for more than $5,000, essentially demanding that she pay for her own sexual assault.

Emotionally shattered she went home feeling like a rape victim. She sued.

[...] Finally, as of a few days ago, the case has been settled. And the US government agreed to pay Ms. Doe $475,000.

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Original Submission

• Re:This news is 2 years old Re:This news is 2 years old (Score: 5, Informative) by n1 on Friday July 29 2016, @09:30PM

  by n1 (993) on Friday July 29 2016, @09:30PM (#381746) Journal

  According to the link you offer, that was her case against the hospital. This article and settlement is around the involvement of U.S. Customs and Border Protection specifically.

  https://www.aclutx.org/en/press-releases/cbp-settles-lawsuit-aclu-client-who-endured-invasive-cavity-searches [aclutx.org]

  Today, the ACLU of Texas and the ACLU of New Mexico announced a record settlement in which U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) paid a New Mexico woman $475,000 for illegally subjecting her to vaginal and anal searches after she was detained at the Cordova Bridge point of entry in El Paso.

  Also today, the four ACLU affiliates at the nation’s Southwest border dispatched letters to 40 healthcare providers that cover 110 facilities — from San Diego to Houston—detailing the rights and responsibilities of hospital personnel when confronted by federal agents who request they perform invasive and illegal body cavity searches. Last year the University Medical Center of El Paso paid the same woman — referred to in the lawsuit as Jane Doe to protect her privacy — a $1.1 million settlement for its collusion in the invasive searches.

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• Re:This news is 2 years old (Score: 1) by Francis on Saturday July 30 2016, @02:59AM

  by Francis (5544) on Saturday July 30 2016, @02:59AM (#381864)

  I'm surprised they settled as that's in that unconstitutional-constitution-free zone that the balls on the SCrOTUmS decided to invent while being true to the exact wording of the constitution.

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