Oakland Police sex scandal is settled
Listen to this articleJasmin Abuslin, 19, said she starting having sex with police officers when she was only 16. (Facebook)
WASHINGTON – The former teenage prostitute at the center of the Oakland, CA. police sex scandal was awarded almost $1 million on Wednesday to settle her lawsuit against the city.
Jasmin Abuslin, 19, had sued Oakland for $66 million last August. Oakland lawmakers agreed to settle her claim for $989,000 during a City Council meeting, according to the council’s website. The 7-1 vote took place around 2 a.m. Wednesday, said civil rights attorney John Burris, who represents Abuslin.
Abuslin, said she had sex with 30 police officers from various law enforcement agencies in Oakland and the Bay area — starting when she was 16.
She said only three officers paid her with cash and others gave her meals or alcohol. Prosecutors allege that at least one officer paid her with Cheetos.
Abuslin’s mother is a dispatcher with the Oakland Police Department.
Abuslin’s allegations were tied to the 2015 suicide of Oakland Police Department Officer Brendan O’Brien, who allegedly killed himself after she threatened to tell others that the two had sex when she was 17. He left a suicide note that allegedly referred to the sex scandal.
Six current and former officers have been charged criminally for their alleged involvement with her. Two have pleaded guilty.
Several officers as well as investigators with the Alameda Couny district attorney’s office have been fired. Oakland Police Chief Michael Ghent resigned last June, weeks after the allegations surfaced.
Six current and former officers have been charged criminally for their alleged involvement with her. Two have pleaded guilty.
Abuslin’s lawyer, John Burris, has called the treatment she received “modern day slavery.” On Wednesday, he lauded the city’s decision.
“The settlement occurred with no admission of liability, but obviously if you pay $1 million, you figure you got some responsibility,” John Burris told reporters outside court.
Abuslin, who used the alias Celeste Guap, no longer works as a prostitute. Neither her mother or father has spoken publicly about the case.
This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News.
Regina Holmes has more than two decades of experience as a journalist –editing and reporting for news dailies including the Miami Herald, Newsday and the Baltimore Examiner. She also launched an award-winning investigative news website that tackled police and political corruption in Baltimore. She has worked as a consultant for the World Bank and Baltimore County Public Schools. Regina became a journalist because even as a child she was fascinated by the power of the press: how it could force a president out of office, elect a president, expose corruption, and shine a light on discrimination. She is passionate about giving a voice to people who are disenfranchised, ignored or powerless, including people of color, senior citizens, the impoverished, people with disabilities, veterans, and children. Issues in which she is particularly interested include race relations, criminal justice, and police brutality. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Vassar College and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. In her spare time, Regina enjoys traveling,antiquing, window-shopping for carsand watching HGTV.