OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against Phelps County and county law enforcement officials filed by a woman who says she was sexually assaulted by a county jail guard in 2012.
The woman says she was assaulted by former Phelps County jail guard Louis Campana during the five days she spent in the jail. Campana was later convicted of sexually abusing inmates and spent a couple of years in prison. The woman sued, but a lower court dismissed the county and officials from the suit.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal Tuesday, saying that while the woman was able to point to things the county could have done to prevent her abuse, its failure to equate Campana’s unprofessional behavior with unlawful actions “does not serve to establish a constitutional violation.”
The court also agreed the county sheriff and a jail official have qualified immunity.
The woman’s claim against Campana is still pending.