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Berks County settles Honduran refugee's claims in immigration center sexual assault case

Morning Call - 1/23/2020

Jan. 23--Berks County officials reached a settlement days before a trial on a Honduran refugee's claims that they failed to help her as she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a guard at the county operated family immigration detention center near Reading.

The lawsuit in federal court was closely watched for its potential to reveal the secretive inner workings of the Berks Family Residential Center, one of three facilities where immigrant parents and children seeking asylum in the United States are detained.

Su Ming Yeh, one of the attorneys who represented the refugee identified only by the initials E.D. in court documents, said county officials reached a settlement with her client in a conference Wednesday in federal court in Easton. Yeh, of the Institutional Law Project in Philadelphia, said the woman's attorneys expected to release details of the settlement later Thursday.

She said her client is satisfied with the settlement, which spares her the emotional toll of having to relive her trauma on the witness stand.

"We believe that what happened to our client was a classic grooming situation that led to several months of sexual abuse," Yeh said. "We believe that to be unconstitutional and that is why we brought the lawsuit."

Lawyers for the defendants -- Berks County, center Director Diane Edwards and four employees -- did not return calls.

The center in Bern Township, northwest of Reading, has come under criticism from advocates and officials for its treatment of parents and children who are sometimes detained for months while waiting for a resolution to their immigration claims. Berks County leases the 96-bed facility to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

E.D. was detained at the Berks center after she entered the United States in 2014 with her 3-year-old son. She was fleeing violence and sexual abuse in her home country, court papers say.

Her contact with guard Daniel Sharkey began about a month after she arrived at the center. Sharkey provided extra food and treats for her son and allowed her to use his cellphone, court papers say.

Within weeks, Sharkey began touching and kissing the woman. When she refused to reciprocate, Sharkey threatened her with deportation.

In July 2014, Sharkey began forcing E.D. to have sex, once in a communal restroom where they were seen by a 7-year-old girl, and on another occasion in a room where another detainee witnessed part of the assault. Staff at the center became aware of the situation but failed to protect E.D. from Sharkey's assaults, court papers allege.

Lawyers for the director and employees of the center argued they can't be held responsible for failing to stop what they characterized as a consensual sexual relationship between a guard and a detainee. They cited the legal doctrine that government employees can't be sued if they reasonably believe their actions are constitutional.

In a decision last summer, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that immigration detainees, such as people in jail awaiting trial on criminal charges, have a clearly established right to be free of sexual assault by government employees.

The 3rd Circuit judges said it should have been clear that failing to stop the sexual relationship was a violation of E.D.'s rights because Pennsylvania law makes any sexual contact between a guard and an inmate a criminal offense. The decision cleared the way for a trial that was scheduled to begin Monday in Easton.

-- Berks County

-- immigration

-- sexual assault

-- federal court

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