Teenage Former Sex Worker From Virginia Awarded Nearly $1 Million To Settle Oakland Police Sex Scandal

Jasmine, a 19-year-old former sex worker from Richmond, Virginia, who has requested the media not to disclose her last name for privacy reasons, was awarded nearly $1 million by the Oakland City Council to settle sex abuse charges against the Oakland Police Department and Bay Area law enforcement community.

Jasmine admitted to having sex with more than a dozen police officers of the department, some of the encounters occurring when she was still a minor.

John Burris, the civil rights attorney who represents Jasmine said that the council had agreed to pay his client $989,000 after a City Council vote which found 7 to 1 in Jasmine’s favor. Since a formal lawsuit was never filed following Jasmine registering her claim with the city last year, there was “no admission of liability” from the accused, added Burris.

“I feel happy that I can close this chapter and move on with my life,” Jasmine said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Criminal charges and disciplinary actions were taken against seven Bay Area law enforcement officers and other officers from Oakland. Police Chief Sean Whent was also fired from his post. In addition, Oakland Police Officer Leroy Johnson pleaded guilty to the charges against him and was sentenced to 3 years in probation and a restraining order to stay away from Jasmine. Retired Livermore Police Officer Dan Black also pleaded no contest to solicitation of lewd conduct and was also sentenced to probation.

Read: Oakland Police Scandal Latest Update: First Woman Police Chief To Fix 'Frat House'

The scandal took a nasty turn when investigators with the Alameda County district attorney’s office and the Richmond Police Department were dismissed due to fallout.

Burris stated that Jasmine “was abused and taken advantage of by a number of officers” from many law enforcement agencies, CBS SF Bay Area reported. Painting a crude picture, he added that they were “passing her around as if she was a kickball or something.”

“How did we create this culture where so many in the department either were willing to engage in or hide sexual misconduct?” he added in the statement. “It seems we need to rebuild the department with more women and more respect.”

Burris stated that he and his client may also consider bringing charges against some of the other departments of the law enforcement as well, including San Francisco, Livermore and Richmond police departments, and the Alameda and Contra Costa county sheriff’s departments, as Jasmine has named a number of officers from these departments.

Back in September 2016, Jasmine, who had checked into a rehabilitation center for drugs and sex addiction, following the advice of an officer she had a sexual relationship with, was arrested on an aggravated battery charge. According to CBS 12 News, her addiction had gotten so bad that Jasmine even tried to solicit sexual favors from the law enforcement officers who has made her arrest.

After that, Jasmine admitted in an interview with ABC7 that she was living a life of confinement and was monitored by armed guards 24/7.