The spouse of a California prisoner will receive $5.6 million over a sexual violation that occurred during a strip search while attempting to visit her husband in jail, her lawyers said on Monday. After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit charged. Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital, The Associated Press reports.
Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could be conducted only if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. Neither the X-ray or CT scan found such evidence. She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband. The settlement requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.