Woman Sexually Assaulted by Jail Employee Sues Santa Barbara County

A former female inmate is suing Santa Barbara County, alleging that the county’s “policy of inaction” allowed for her sexual assault by a jail employee, Salvador Vargas, in 2018. Vargas, who was later convicted, had multiple previous complaints against him that the county allegedly ignored. The lawsuit, set for trial in September, argues that the county’s failure to act on these complaints enabled the assault. The case highlights concerns about institutional issues within the Sheriff’s Office.

Per the Santa Barbara Independent:

Court records show that in August 2018, Vargas was tasked with transporting the plaintiff — identified as Jane Doe — from the Main Jail to Bethel House, a residential treatment center where she would complete her sentence. While stopped at a pharmacy to pick up Doe’s prescription medication, “Vargas assaulted, groped, and forced Doe to orally copulate him.”

Vargas was arrested in 2020 along with custody deputy Gabriel Castro after a two-year-long investigation with intertwined witnesses. Castro’s case was dismissed in December 2021 after the plaintiff, a different Jane Doe, died in a car crash. He remained an employee of the Sheriff’s Office through October 2022.

Vargas is currently serving three years behind bars, and the focus of the investigation has now turned to the behavior of the Sheriff’s Office leading up to the assault. Neil Gehlawat of Taylor & Ring, one of Doe’s attorneys, said, “There is no question of whether it happened. The issue now is the county’s liability.”

He went on to say, “My client’s assault would’ve been preventable if the county took any of these complaints seriously,” and added, “We’re concerned about this being an institutional problem.”

The Independent reports, “The county attempted to dismiss the case by claiming that the evidence was clear enough for the court to rule in the county’s favor without a trial. However, their motion was denied by the federal judge hearing the case. The trial is set to begin on September 9.”

How our Los Angeles sexual abuse attorneys can help

Our Los Angeles sexual abuse attorneys have secured the following verdicts and settlements for former clients, and we want to help you, too:

• $40 Million Settlement, Sexual Assault: Taylor & Ring represented a group of women who were sexually abused by a school employee.
• $6.15 Million Settlement, Sexual Assault: Taylor & Ring represented a woman who was raped by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop in 2010. This settlement was the largest sexual assault recovery against a police agency in California. Read more here.
• $5.4 Million Verdict, Sexual Assault: Taylor & Ring represented a 37-year-old woman who was sexually battered and raped in a West Hollywood nightclub by a staff member. Read more here.
• $5 Million Settlement, Sexual Assault: Taylor & Ring represented a client who was working as a student driver for a national trucking company when she was raped by her Lead Driver. Read more here.
• $4.5 Million Settlement, Sexual Assault: Taylor & Ring represented a woman who was sexually assaulted by a California Highway Patrol officer.
• $3 Million Settlement, Sexual Assault: Taylor & Ring represented a woman who was sexually assaulted by a member of the clergy.

To schedule a free consultation with a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer like Neil Gehlawat, please call Taylor & Ring or fill out our contact form.