Board of Supervisors votes unanimously to settle lawsuit by a man, charged with molestation, who wasn't segregated in custody.
.The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to pay $2.8 million to a former jail inmate who was severely beaten after other inmates learned he was an accused child molester — the most the county has paid to resolve a lawsuit involving a jail attack. Attorneys for Jose Beas, 41, had contended that sheriff's employees endangered the married father of three by placing him in a dormitory with 80 general population inmates instead of isolating him as department policy required.
Beas, of South Los Angeles, was a machinist and part-time soccer referee who volunteered at his children's school. He was arrested in December 2003 and charged with molesting a 5-year-old girl that his wife was baby-sitting. The charges against him were dismissed because of the extent of his injuries, court records show. Beas had denied molesting the girl, saying he playfully patted her bottom with an open hand. He had no prior criminal history, his lawyers said.
Because child molestation suspects are often targeted for violence while in jail, the Sheriff's Department for several years has housed them apart from the rest of the jail population. In a suit he filed against the county in 2005, Beas contended that the department failed to segregate him even after one jail employee requested that Beas be moved to protective custody. ..more.. : by Stuart Pfeifer
Former Inmate Gets Millions From LA County
12-21-2006 California:
(Los Angeles, CA) -- The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors awarded two-point-eight-million-dollars to a former jail inmate who was severely beaten after other inmates learned he was an accused child molester. It is the largest amount the county has ever paid to resolve a lawsuit over a jail attack.
Attorneys for Jose Beas contended sheriff's employees failed to isolate Beas from 80 general population inmates. Beas was arrested in December 2003 and charged with molesting a five-year-old girl that his wife was babysitting. Charges against Beas were eventually dropped due to the severity of his beating.
The "Los Angeles Times" reports Beas, a married father of three, denied molesting the girl, saying he had playfully patted her bottom with an open hand. He had no prior criminal record. Beas spent several months recovering from a serious brain injury and spent months in a semi-vegetative state. He remains bedridden, unable to walk or talk. ...more... by Metro Networks Communications
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