A former inmate of Milwaukee County Jail was recently awarded $6.7 million after being raped and shackled during childbirth.
In June, a young woman testified that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by corrections officer Xavier Thicklen. She told the jury he raped her once when she was seven months pregnant and a few days after she gave birth to her baby girl. The victim was booked into Milwaukee County Jail in 2013.
(Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
“She was raped repeatedly at the age of 19. She sought justice and she is glad the system delivered that justice,” Chicago attorney Theresa Kleinhaus told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “She hopes to prevent other women from being sexually assaulted in the Milwaukee County Jail.”
The victim told the court she still suffered from nightmares from all of the abuse she endured.
Thicklen was fired from the jail and charged with sexual assault. The officer pleaded no contest to the felony charge and only served three days in the House of Correction.
The jury found there was “no legitimate government purpose” for county officials to shackle the victim during childbirth. However, because a jury found she didn’t suffer from any physical damages, she wasn’t awarded any monetary damages.
Attorney Kleinhaus told the news station that her client was satisfied with the court’s verdict.