The city of Oakland, California, will have to pay out nearly $1 million to settle a teen’s claim that police officers sexually abused her while she was working as an underage prostitute. This is just the first of several cases she has filed; she currently has cases against five other San Francisco Bay Area law enforcement agencies.
The woman, who is now 19, says that, “I thought I was alone,” before realizing the amount of support she had from friends and family.
During a press conference Wednesday, she seemed nervous, giving only short answers to questions. She did say she was “very satisfied” with the settlement she received.
Her mother works with the Oakland Police Department as a dispatcher. Neither her mother nor her father was at the press conference.
The scandal broke last summer when a federal judge overseeing the Oakland Police Department said he wasn’t satisfied with the internal affairs investigation into an officer who had committed suicide in 2015.
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That officer was one of the cops who the teen says abused her over a three year period.
The Oakland City Council voted 7-1 to pay out the $989,000 to settle the woman’s claims. The only holdout was Councilwoman Desley Brooks, who only voted the way she did because she felt the victim deserved more.
“Think about this young girl, who was victimized under the color of authority,” Brooks stated. “There is something wrong with this.”
Mayor Libby Schaaf was in favor of the settlement.
“It was in the best interest of the city to settle this matter quickly and fairly,” Schaaf said. “We remain focused on rebuilding the public trust that was so damaged by this incident.”