Crime & Safety
Illegal Strip Searches Common Practice At County Jail, NJ Lawsuit Says
Two women filed the lawsuits against Salem County Warden John Cuzzupe and Salem County, according to court documents Patch obtained.
SALEM COUNTY, NJ — Two women have sued Salem County and Salem County Warden John Cuzzupe, claiming they were subject to unnecessary searches while prisoners at the Salem County Correctional Facility, court documents obtained by Patch claim.
In addition, one of the plaintiffs seeks to represent at least 1,000 women and other individuals "who were admitted or will be admitted to Salem County's Closed Custody Unit," according to the documents.
The first plaintiff, Ashley Brown, was admitted to the correctional facility several times, the documents stated.
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Brown "was classified as at-risk without ever having seen a medical professional. Upon admission to the at-risk unit, she was required to wear a suicide gown, kept in isolation 23/7 and 24/7; never permitted to leave the unit; housed in a cell with a camera and; strip-searched in a closed custody
unit after already having been strip-searched," the documents continued.
These acts, and others, caused Brown to experience "severe emotional and psychological distress," according to the documents.
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The second plaintiff, Dana Clark Stevenson, said she was strip-searched upon admission to the correctional facility, the documents stated. Stevenson was also subjected to a "bend and spread strip search although she did not have an opportunity to obtain contraband," the documents continued.
The legality of conducting multiple searches given the situation and whether or not those individuals not involved in the strip search should be allowed to view them are among the questions presented in her documents.
Clark Stevenson suffered emotional distress and embarrassment "because she was demeaned, dehumanized, undignified, humiliated, terrified, embarrassed and repulsed," the documents stated.
Both women seek jury trials and financial compensation, according to the documents.
Patch's request for comment was not immediately returned.
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