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(EMAILWIRE.COM, May 04, 2012 ) Miami, FL. - Matthew Sarelson, founder of the Sarelson Law Firm, has filed a complaint on behalf of Dawn Morris Willis against the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office at the U.S. District Court in Miami for multiple instances of coercive rape. The complaint names Sheriff Paul May and Deputy Tommie Joe (“T.J.”) Brock.
The complaint alleges that Deputy Brock pulled Willis over on suspicion of drunk driving and offered sex as an alternative to arrest. The complaint details several more accounts of coercive rape by Deputy Brock, including incidents that took place in Deputy Brock’s office while Willis was detained at the county jail. DNA evidence indicates that sexual activity took place between Willis and Deputy Brock, who has since been terminated. The complaint mentions similar incidents with other female prisoners and accuses Okeechobee officers of ignoring Deputy Brock’s crimes. The complaint seeks damages for sexual battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, conspiracy and First, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment violations.
“What happened to our client is reprehensible,” Sarelson said. “Pre-trial detainees and prisoners should be safe in jail without having to worry about being raped by the sheriff’s department. Shockingly, the deputy sheriff’s defense to this lawsuit is that the sex was consensual. She was in handcuffs and leg-irons and was promised that she could call her dying father in the hospital from jail in exchange for sex. This is not a compelling case for consensual sex.”
Sarelson focuses his practice on class action lawsuits, consumer protection, workplace discrimination, whistleblower protection, wage and hour disputes and securities litigation. He founded Sarelson Law Firm in 2007. He was named a “Legal Elite Up and Comer” by Florida Trend Magazine and an “Up and Comer” by both the Florida Super Lawyers and the South Florida Legal Guide. Sarelson has been interviewed by dozens of media outlets seeking professional legal input on high profile lawsuits.
For more information, please contact Matthew Sarelson by calling (305) 379-0305, or by submitting a request form at his website: http://www.sarelson.com/.
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