Inmate allegedly sexually assaulted in jail bathroom stall files lawsuit

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

The jail inmate who allegedly was sexually assaulted by a former Montgomery County Jail corrections officer said she was forced into a bathroom stall, kept isolated and told to strip after she said he told other officers she had evidence of an assault, according to a federal lawsuit filed in Dayton’s U.S. District Court.

The woman names as defendants former corrections officer Franco R. Villella, the county’s board of commissioners and Sheriff Phil Plummer.

Villella, who turns 23 on Thursday, has been criminally charged with two counts of felony sexual battery, each punishable by up to five years in prison.

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“Villella took Plaintiff to the dark dorm area in the West 21 section of the jail, and had her go to the last bathroom stall in that area,” the complaint says about the alleged incident of Dec. 11. “Villella forced himself upon Plaintiff, forcing her to engage in sexual intercourse with him, causing physical and emotional injuries.”

The complaint said Villella and another officer then denied the woman medical care and wouldn’t let her immediately report the assault despite her saying she had forensic evidence.

The woman was kept in a cold cell with no blanket, mat or pillow for hours, the complaint said, and then she was taken to a room with a window and forced to undress with male officers watching. She was then taken to a hospital and jail personnel later collected her clothing, the complaint said.

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The complaint written by attorney Kenneth Ignozzi said Villella stalked the women and visited her in her cell without permission and without a female officer.

Ignozzi wrote that the woman’s lawsuit fits the pattern of other misdeeds in the jail that is surrounded by silence.

“This code of silence contributes to the generation of secrets regarding corrections’ officer misconduct,” Ignozzi wrote. “The secrets in this connection are designed to prevent officers from being sanctioned and/or disciplined for excessive force, and the commission of sexual acts with citizens (while on duty and nonconsensual).”

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