Woman sues police department for 'failing to stop officers from sexually trafficking her'

City of Oakland paid out $989,000 (£768,000) in damages to Ms Abuslin in previous settlement

Jasmine Abuslin files another lawsuit naming Richmond police officers

A woman is suing a US police department for failing to stop several officers using her as a sex "slave".

Jasmine Abuslin, who also goes by the name of Celeste Guap, filed a lawsuit naming Allwyn Brown, the current Richmond police chief, former Chief Chris Magnus and Lt Brian Dickerson.

Ms Abuslin’s lawyer, John Burris, says they failed to supervise and stop the sexual misconduct of at least five Richmond police officers.

“This is terribly outrageous,” Mr Burris told Courthouse News.

“They took advantage of a vulnerable young person. Girls like this are always suffering from some psychological deficit of some kind. Instead of acknowledging that and getting her help, they took advantage of her vulnerabilities. That’s the most negative and damning aspect of this.”

In the lawsuit, Ms Abuslin says she was available to the Richmond Police Department “for sexual favours and pleasure in exchange for paid monies, protection, or other forms of consideration.”

The court document condemns the alleged cover up of this “modern-day slavery” and accuses the officers of turning a blind eye to the plight of Ms Abuslin when she was a minor.

All of the officer defendants and the city of Richmond are also accused of conspiring to obstruct justice through witness tampering.

Mr Burris said there were plans to sue the Alameda County Sherriff’s Office, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department, the Livermore Police Department.

Now 19, Ms Abuslin has been the victim of sexual exploitation since the age of 12, according to ABC news.

The allegations first surfaced in 2015 when an Oakland police officer, Brendan O’Brien killed himself. Ms Abuslin had threatened to reveal they were in a sexual relationship when she was 17. In California, the age of consent is 18. O’Brien left behind a note admitting his involvement with Ms Abuslin and implicating several other officers.

Ms Abuslin filed a lawsuit against Oakland in September 2016, asking for $30m (£23.3m) in damages. She had claimed that Oakland police officers exploited and victimised her in violation of her civil rights. In May of this year, the city of Oakland paid out $989,000 (£768,00) in damages.

The scandal caused at least seven law enforcement agencies to launch investigations, affecting at least 30 police officers in the Bay Area.

Update. An earlier version of this story erroneously referred to Ms Abuslin as a 'teenage prostitute'. We regret that this may have given the impression that responsibility for the crimes committed against her was being shifted away from adults who abused her, and that a child can be capable of consenting to sexual activity. 24/8/17