The Boston police scandal aims to give an analysis of a woman from Oakland who had pressed charges against several Francisco bay area police departments after having sexual relationships with around twenty officers as she worked as a prostitute in the area. High professional standards are expected from police departments as they maintain law and order, and they have to act as role models to other individuals in society. The lady, identified as Jasmine Abuslin, was 19 at the time she claimed to have slept with enforcement officials for more than two years before the case, hence she was still a minor. Abuslin had testified that she had lied about her age in the previous encounters, and was dropping her lawsuit since she was tired of testifying. The victim is reported to have been a victim of sex trafficking from when she was 12 years old. This paper will give a summary of the case, which will entail the effects of the scandal on law enforcement, how police discretion influenced the scandal, and charges made, among others. The sex scandal case involving a minor in the Bay Area was a bad reflection of law enforcers to the community, and as much as it resulted to fines of around $1 million, sexual exploitations of minors should not be allowed no consent is valid to the law as long as the victim is under 18 years.
Summary of Bay Area Sex Scandal
The Bay Area sex scandal involved the victim, Abuslin, who had allegedly been sexually exploited by police officers from several departments in San Francisco, Oakland, Livermore, Richmond, and the sheriff’s offices of Contra Costa and Alameda counties (The Press Democrat, 2018). The abuse claims by the victim were controversial and painted a bad image to the departments involved. The civil lawsuit by Abuslin claimed that both the city and the police departments were exploitive and negligent when handling her case as per the court filings. Abuslin’s lawsuit stated that Sean Whent, then-Oakland police chief, was aware that the victim was being sexually violated as a minor but did not act accordingly (Fox News, 2016). Whent downplayed the allegations by the victim, and his department did not investigate her claims properly. According to the claim, in 2015, Abuslin was yet to turn 18 when she met with Brendan O’Brien (Oakland Police Officer) while running from a pimp. Officer O’Brien’s obligation after an encounter with a minor running from a pimp was to make certain inquiries about the victim’s wellbeing under California Penal Code 236.2. The officer, however, exploited the victim himself instead of protecting her.
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Oakland city then started dismissing proceedings against four officers since two of the officers had so far resigned, while the third one had committed suicide. Abuslin admitted that she had her first sexual encounter back in 2011 with a police officer from Oakland and had worked as a prostitute while aged 16 and 17, where she had sexual relations with almost 14 officers (Elias, 2017). The victim’s lawsuit states that Officer O’Brien, alongside other officers and deputies, had continued exploiting the victim as a minor even when she turned 18 as well. They were giving her protection and informing her about police businesses in exchange for sexual favors. Throughout this period, none of the police officers offered the victim help or information that could save her from sexual exploitation. According to court documents, Daniel Black (from Livermore police department) was charged several counts, including giving alcohol to a minor (Abuslin), lewd public behavior, and taking part in prostitution (The Press Democrat, 2018). Black had picked up the victim in a motor home and taken her out for dinner with clear instructions of only buying her dinner but not paying her.
Despite Abuslin’s admission to being a prostitute, being underage does not justify the fact that she had given consent to the sexual exploitations. Consent is often a defense issue no matter what line of work a victim engages in. The lawsuit states that the Oakland department and related officers either took part directly, ignored, or covered up the modern-day slavery that resulted in Abuslin’s sexual exploitation (Fox News, 2016). The unlawful acts, according to the lawsuit, involved sex trafficking and trafficking into servitude of a child forcefully. According to Wagner (2016), the other offenses committed unlawful forced labor, coercion, and fraud, which made the victim undergo unimaginable suffering, pain, and abuse that will be felt by Abuslin and her family forever. Oakland paid the victim almost $1 million for her abuse claims to be settled, while Abuslin was later sent rehab facility in Florida for sex and heroin addiction.
Major Players in the Bay Area Sex Scandal
The major players in the Bay Area sex scandal included Abuslin, who was the victim of sexual exploitation by more than a dozen police officers from different departments. The police departments that were involved included Richmond, Oakland, Livermore, Contra Costa, and the sheriff’s offices of San Francisco and Alameda counties (CBC News, 2016). In Oakland, over a dozen police officers were disciplined while seven former and current officers faced murder charges. Three other officers were slapped with felony charges, including Ricardo Perez, 29 (sheriff’s deputy in Contra Costa County), who was charged two counts for taking part in lewd conduct as well as oral copulation. Richmond department was sued for alleged substantial misconduct by several officers, as some of them had sex with the victim for protection (CBC News, 2016).
Ways in which the Bay Area Sex Scandal affected law enforcement’s relationship with Community
The Bay Area sex scandal had significant impacts on the community around the involved police departments as they had a negative reflection of the respective departments. In the first place, the trust between the law enforcement and the community was broken, and the community could not rely on the police departments to protect them from dangers like sexual exploitation. The lack of trust was because by the officer’s decision to be part of the scandal and cover it up rather than help the teenager recover from sexual addiction and prostitution. Despite being directly involved, the officers were required to take protective action against the crime, something they failed to do. The law enforcers violated the California Penal Code 236.2 as they failed to protect and help the minor as required by the law (Wagner, 2016). Trust was not only lost among the officers but in authority itself as the sheriff’s Deputy in Contra Costa County (Ricardo Perez), was as well involved in the scandal and had not acted in interest to free the girl from the modern-day slavery.
The community also felt betrayed and underrepresented since the authority and individuals required to protect them were, instead, engaging in the crimes. The law enforcers involved in the scandal had failed in fulfilling their duties, hence making their representation unnecessary. Their decision to promote the vice that was prominent in the community was also a betrayal to the community. The law enforcers were required to use their authority to fight and eradicate the vice rather than promote it. When the authority that was trusted to give protection against minor sexual abuse and underage prostitution engages in the vice, the community may feel underrepresentation, and the officers, if not the entire department. had to be replaced. The teenager could be anyone’s daughter, relative, or friend in the community, and the accused needs to face the law and be prosecuted accordingly. In every community, the police not only crucial in protecting the community but are also required to set a good example in leadership (Hagan, 2010). Law enforcers involved in the scandal had also failed to act as good leaders, and this was hurtful to the community that struggled to get protection and justice.
How the use of police discretion contributed to the Bay Area Sex Scandal
Police discretion gives law enforcement officials the go-ahead to make decisions in the field when a handbook or the law has no clear-cut solution concerning the scenario. For this instance, however, police discretion was wrongfully used, and it significantly contributed to the scandal. The law enforcement officials abused police discretion as they decided to act in ways that promoted their self-interests rather than those of the public. Instead of protecting Abuslin and saving her from sexual exploitation as a minor, the law enforcers decided to use their discretion as an advantage to acquire sexual favors from the minor (Elias, 2017). On the contrary, the law enforces made a deal with the girl to give her information concerning police operations during raids to notorious prostitute locations as well as personal protection in exchange for sex.
The officer’s discretion allowed them to act according to the law and address the victim’s situation by intervening and taking her to the rehab or related institution, however, tgey failed to do so. Police discretion was also wrongfully used by the law enforcers as they voluntarily engaged in inequities while enforcing authority in the Bay Area. The law enforcers chose to favor the girl and exploit her sexually instead of standing against the vice of minor prostitution and condemning the act. This illegal use of discretion allowed the law enforcers to take advantage of the situation and offer to favor the girl during raids rather than save her from prostitution life (Elias, 2017). Police discretion also allowed law enforcers to ignore underage prostitution crimes and rather promoting it.
Changes that were made in the department because of the Bay Area Sex Scandal
In Oakland, disciplinary action was taken against the dozen officers that were involved in the scandal, including dismissal proceedings against four of them. The other seven officers were required to serve unpaid suspensions before returning back to duty. So far, two officers in Oakland had already opted for resignation after the scandal, including Sean Whent (Oakland Police Chief), while another one had committed suicide. Four other police officers from Richmond, Calif, who been implicated lost their jobs while a Livermore officer also resigned after the department’s investigation results.
Conclusion
The Accuser was a victim of sexual exploitation from a minor age while working as a sex worker. The sexual predators who also happened to be police officers, continuously exploited her sexually. The law enforces misused police discretion by offering the victim favors such as protection and information of police operations that were taking place to eliminate illegal prostitute locations in the Bay Area. The unfortunate saga at the Richmond Police Department has put a permanent scar on the police officers working at the department. The accusations make it a failed police department from maintaining the highest professional standards as expected from those who are expected to maintain law and order. The community’s relationship with law enforcers became ruined as members of the community lost their trust in the police departments and also felt betrayed and underrepresented by the law enforcers.
References
CBC News. (2016). Prosecutors will charge 7 Bay Area officers in sex scandal. Retrieved from: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oakland-police-sex-scandal-prosecutors-will-charge-7-bay-area-officers-in-sexual-misconduct-case/
Elias, P. (2017). Teen sues Bay Area police over sex scandal. The Press Democrat. Retrieved from: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/7323244-181/teen-sues-bay-area-police?sba=AAS
Fox News. (2016). Former teen prostitute slaps city of Oakland with $66M suit after police sex scandal. Retrieved from: https://www.foxnews.com/world/former-teen-prostitute-slaps-city-of-oakland-with-66m-suit-after-police-sex-scandal
Hagan, F. E. (2010). Crime types and criminals. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/01/25/bay-area-police-sex-scandal-final-lawsuit-lawsuit/
The Press Democrat. (2018). Teen drops suit against Richmond Police Department over sex scandal. Retrieved from: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/7917959-181/teen-drops-suit-against-richmond?sba=AAS
Wagner, M. (2016). Teen at center of California police sex scandal sues city of Oakland for $66 million. New York Daily News. Retrieved from: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/teen-center-california-police-sex-scandal-sues-city-article-1.2796026
