Christina Cardenas was awarded $5.6 million after a traumatic cavity search while visiting her incarcerated husband in California. The settlement includes changes to protect visitors’ rights.
BollywoodFever: A California woman, Christina Cardenas, 45, has been awarded a $5.6 million settlement after enduring a humiliating and invasive cavity search while attempting to visit her incarcerated husband in 2019.
The settlement involves the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley Hospital, a doctor, and two correctional officers, according to her attorneys.
Cardenas’ ordeal began on September 6, 2019, when she attempted to visit her husband, who has been incarcerated since 2001 for armed robbery.
Despite undergoing two strip searches, a cavity search, X-rays, and CT scans — none of which revealed any contraband — Cardenas was denied the right to see her husband. Adding to the trauma, she was subjected to a $5,000 medical bill for the procedures.
Cardenas filed a lawsuit, not just to seek compensation but to prevent others from experiencing similar mistreatment. “My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas stated.
The settlement, which includes $3.6 million from the CDCR, also requires the department to implement policies to protect visitors’ rights during strip searches.
Corrections staff will now be required to present visitors with search warrants and ensure they understand the scope of the search.
Cardenas’ legal representation, led by high-profile women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred, argued that the officers exceeded the limits of the search warrant, which only allowed for a strip search if an X-ray revealed foreign objects.
Throughout the ordeal, Cardenas was allegedly taunted by a prison official who questioned why she continued to visit her husband. She also endured a degrading “perp walk” in handcuffs and was denied water and bathroom access.
This incident is part of a broader systemic problem of sexual misconduct in California prisons, with the U.S. Department of Justice recently opening an investigation into similar abuses in state-run facilities.
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