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Woman claims police offered her a taco instead of medical attention after she was raped in jail

She's seeking $70 million in damages.

Justin Carissimo
New York
Friday 10 June 2016 23:32 BST
One taco is shown.
One taco is shown. (Stu_Spivack/Flickr)

A woman in Texas has filed a lawsuit against several police officers and the city of La Joya on claims that she was denied medical attention after being raped by a dispatcher.

The plaintiff is seeking more than $70,000 in damages, according to the lawsuit obtained by Courthouse News, after an "all-night invasion" by former police officer Felipe Santiago Peralez in May 2014.

“Peralez began an all-night invasion of plaintiff's body, by inserting his fingers, hands, and other objects into her buttocks and vaginal areas of plaintiff's body," the 38-page complaint reads.

When the woman reported the assault, the sheriff viewed the video recording, and “offered her tacos,” according to the complaint, and she was then denied medical attention.

In August 2015, a Hidalgo County grand jury indicted Peralez on three counts of violating a person’s civil rights and one count of official oppression, CBS 4 News reports. The 24-year-old plead guilty to two counts and was sentenced to 180 days in state jail and 30 days in county jail.

La Joya City Attorney Roberto Jackson, Jr has said that the problems in the lawsuit have already been taken care of by the DA’s office.

“As far as liability, I don’t think we have any. Nonetheless, we’re going to address it,” Jackson told BuzzFeed News. “We’re not trying to conceal anything from anyone. Some of the allegations, from what I know, it’s going to be hard to substantiate. Basically, they’re meritless. I’m confident that after all is said and done we’ll be fine.”

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