NEW ORLEANS – A pre-trial detainee at the Orleans Justice Center alleges he was sexually assaulted by an inmate.
John Doe filed a complaint on May 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin N. Gusman alleging violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Jan. 21, 2016, he was arrested and was assigned in a cell with a known sexual offender. As a result, the suit states he was sexually assaulted by his cellmate. The plaintiff holds Gusman responsible because the Orleans Justice Center allegedly has inadequate staffing and has an insufficient inmate classification system.
The plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorney's fees and costs and all further relief as the court may deem just and proper. He is represented by Randall A. Smith of Smith & Fawer LLC in New Orleans and Philip J. Kaplan of Law Offices of Philip J. Kaplan in Los Angeles, California.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:17-cv-05050