A California woman who was sexually molested during a cavity check while attempting to visit her incarcerated husband was paid $5.6 million in a settlement with the Department of Corrections and the hospital that handled the examination, her attorneys announced Monday.
Christina Cardenas, 45, told the New York Times that an attempted visit to her inmate husband on Sept. 6, 2019, left her “traumatized” after she went through two strip searches, a cavity search in which a male doctor allegedly violated her, X-ray and CT scans, and a drug and pregnancy test, according to the lawsuit she filed against the parties.
She was subsequently given a $5,000 bill from the hospital that conducted the testing. But Cardenas will recoup the money and then some. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million, with the remainder of the $5.6 million settlement split between Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley Hospital, a doctor, and two correction officials. The Times noted that all accused denied any wrongdoing in the settlement.
“My motivation for pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others did not have to suffer the same heinous offenses that I did,” Cardenas stated.
The correction officials had the warrant to search any visitors to her husband, who has been in prison since 2001 when he was convicted of armed robbery, the Times reports.
Los Angeles High School STUDENT FOUND DEAD IN CAMPUS POOL, Investigation Underway
However, the warrant said that authorities could only conduct a strip search on the visitor if an X-ray revealed any foreign objects that could be contraband inside the visitor’s body. Cardenas had an X-ray and a CT scan, and neither revealed any abnormalities, according to her lawyers.
Her lawyers also claimed that a prison official attempted to threaten her during the intrusive ordeal.
“Christina, why are you visiting? You are under no obligation to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” the official allegedly taunted, according to terrifying details provided by Cardenas in the lawsuit.
Cardenas is being represented by Gloria Allred, a well-known women’s rights lawyer whose previous clients include Mimi Haley in her complaint against Harvey Weinstein, Judy Huth in her suit alleging sexual abuse by Bill Cosby, and the family of Halyna Hutchins.
“We believed the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during his incarceration,” Allred informed us.
Sexual assault and misconduct have been widespread issues in California prisons. On September 4, the Justice Department announced that it was conducting an inquiry into allegations that correctional staff sexually mistreated female detainees at two state-run California prisons.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons recently closed a women’s jail in Northern California, the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, in response to similar complaints. The jail was nicknamed the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation revealed widespread sexual assault by correctional officials.