Discuss the Salazar et al. v. City of Espanola et al. [2004] case. What was the outcome?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In 2004, a city in New Mexico had a judge and a few correctional officers for the local jail who were involved in the sexual abuse of female inmates. The male judge and a few male correctional staff had an arrangement whereby female offenders whom the judge found attractive would be placed in the jail (whether their alleged offense merited it or not), and then the judge would have access to them when they were sent over to “clean” his chambers. Inevitably, he would make passes at them, using the threat of more jail time, denied privileges, or a lengthened sentence, as a way to coerce them into sexual activity with him. Meanwhile, a few of the correctional staff were harassing the female inmates, such as watching and commenting on their bodies as they showered, making sexual advances toward them, and touching them inappropriately. Two male officers were even involved in removing a few females from their cells and having sex with them in the control room at night when no one else was around. There were no female staff on duty at the time of these sexual assaults and this abuse. After this kind of activity occurred for a period of time, and due to the concerted efforts of several ex-inmates and their attorneys, the judge was convicted of rape, and the judge, correctional staff, and city lost a million dollar lawsuit.