Waitress Sues County for Rape While Handcuffed

MARIETTA Ga. (CN) - An undocumented waitress from El Salvador says a drunk Cobb County deputy dragged her from her workplace and drove her at gunpoint to his apartment, where he demanded oral sex at gunpoint, then handcuffed her and raped her for hours. The deputy was convicted of multiple criminal charges.

The woman, IG, sued Cobb County Deputy Sheriff Jason Anthony Bill, and his superiors, and also sued the restaurant-bar where she worked, which failed to intervene when Bill dragged her from the bar, according to her complaint in Cobb County Court.

Bill, 40, was convicted in a jury trial in March of kidnapping, rape, false imprisonment, aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual battery and aggravated sexual assault, according to Georgia press reports. His victim spoke little English when he raped her.

Bill was fired after IG complained of the rape, in July 2008.

As she worked her shift in the Corona Bar & Restaurant, IG says, Deputy Bill, dressed in plain clothes, obviously drunk and wearing his badge around his neck, began to "make verbal threats to deport" her, then "forcibly placed (her) arms behind her back and began dragging plaintiff out the back door."

She says she was "forced into defendant Bill's vehicle by defendant Bill," who "drove plaintiff to his apartment complex and forced her into his apartment by threatening plaintiff with a firearm." She believes it was his county-issued gun. Once inside his apartment, she says, "Defendant Bill immediately forced plaintiff to perform oral sex while pulling plaintiff's hair, violently tearing off plaintiff's clothes, and holding that certain firearm to plaintiff's face and chest."

After the oral sex, she says, Bill handcuffed her with county-issued handcuffs, and "Officer Bill then forcibly penetrated the plaintiff's vagina without her consent and against her will."

The complaint continues: "Over the next few hours, Deputy Bill used rope and those certain handcuffs to restrain plaintiff's movement of upper and lower extremities and to tie plaintiff up in various positions. While plaintiff was restrained, Deputy Bill slapped and punched plaintiff repeatedly, whipped plaintiff with a belt repeatedly, forced plaintiff under scalding hot water in the shower, all while forcing plaintiff to perform oral sex and/or forcibly penetrating plaintiff without her consent and against her will.

"Plaintiff repeatedly begged defendant Bill for mercy and screamed in agony and despair. Office Bill responded by gagging plaintiff."

IG says she escaped when Bill's "attention was diverted by a visitor at the back door. Plaintiff ran through the apartment complex terrified and completely nude."

She seeks punitive damages from Bill, Cobb County, its Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Bill Warren, Corona Bar & Restaurant and Bill's apartment complex, for assault, battery, infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment and constitutional violations.

She is represented by W. Calvin Smith II, of Atlanta.

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