Santa Barbara County to Pay $2 Million to Sexually Assaulted Jail Inmate

Sheriff’s Office Accused of “Deliberate Indifference” to Employee’s Behavior

The county has settled a federal lawsuit filed by a former female inmate at Santa Barbara County’s Main Jail who was sexually assaulted in 2018 by then-employee Salvador Vargas (above) | Credit: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office

A former Santa Barbara jail inmate who was sexually assaulted by a jail employee in 2018 will receive a $2 million settlement from Santa Barbara County after suing them in federal court over claims that the Sheriff’s Office’s “policy of inaction” and “deliberate indifference” cleared the way for her sexual assault to occur.

According to undisputed facts of the case, in 2018, the plaintiff — identified as Jane Doe — was to be transferred from the Main Jail to a residential treatment center to complete her sentence. During transport, Salvador Vargas, working then as a discharge planner, forced Doe to orally copulate him while stopped at a State Street pharmacy to pick up Doe’s prescription medication. Doe had been dealing with sexual advances and innuendos from Vargas for some time before the assault.

Vargas pled guilty to forcible oral copulation and sexual activity with an inmate on the eve of his criminal trial in 2022. He is currently serving a three-year prison sentence.

“The question of this case was not whether or not the assault happened, but whether the county could be held liable,” said Neil Gehlawat, Doe’s attorney. “This isn’t just a broken elbow that can heal on its own.”

Court records indicate that three complaints of sexual misconduct had been filed against Vargas prior to the assault on Doe. In two, investigating deputies did not interview the victims. In the third case, the victim was interviewed and believed, and two deputies took her complaint up the chain of command. The court found that one deputy was instructed to “disregard it” by her sergeants, and the other deputy “believed they were instructed by [Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office] sergeants to ‘bury’ the report.”

An additional deposition revealed that “Vargas allegedly groped and sexually battered a social worker assisting inmates” the same year as Doe’s assault. This battery went unreported over fears of retaliation and “[losing] access to the inmates she worked to protect.”

“We’re glad that our client can finally start the road to healing from this preventable trauma,” said Gehlawat.