Amid two federal lawsuits against the SF Sheriff’s Office over alleged mistreatment of female inmates, a deputy was charged with battery and misdemeanor assault after she allegedly asked a female inmate if she had implants then touched her breast.
The alleged incident happened Sunday at County Jail No 2, and Deputy Nanette Musto, 51, is accused of asking a female inmate whether she had breast implants because of rumors circulating among other inmates, as the Chronicle reports. Prosecutors say that after the inmate responded, Musto reached out and touched the woman’s breast without permission or lawful justification.
According to NBC Bay Area, the district attorney’s office said surveillance video corroborated the woman's account and that she told investigators she felt "humiliated and embarrassed."
The Sheriff's Office said it opened an internal investigation before referring the case to the District Attorney's Office for charging consideration. Sheriff's spokesperson Tara Moriarty said the department takes allegations of employee misconduct seriously and that Musto has been reassigned pending the outcome of the criminal case.
The San Francisco Deputy Sheriff's Association said it will provide Musto with legal representation.
"These are allegations, and like every person charged with a crime, our member is entitled to the presumption of innocence and due process under the law," Danilo Quintanilla, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Deputy Sheriff's Association, said in a statement to NBC Bay Area.
As SFist previously reported, the Sheriff's Office and County Jail are already facing two federal class action lawsuits, with one filed in May by 20 women, alleging deputies recorded female inmates with body-worn cameras and humiliated them during a mass strip search. A second lawsuit filed last month claims jail conditions are unconstitutional because of a lack of sunlight and other alleged deprivations.
Related: SF Faces Second Class-Action Lawsuit Over Treatment of Women at County Jail
Image: Joe Kukura/SFist
