Woman says she was strip-searched in front of men

Erica D. Johnson

Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2003 | 8:52 a.m.

A woman who claims she was strip-searched in front of male prisoners while she was an inmate at the Clark County Detention Center has filed a lawsuit in federal court, alleging her civil rights were violated.

Maribeth Neyhart, also known as Bethany Blake, last week filed the lawsuit against Metro Police and Clark County, claiming a female corrections officer strip-searched her Oct. 22 in an empty holding cell in full view of male inmates.

The lawsuit does not specify the amount of money Neyhart is seeking.

As of Monday evening, neither Metro nor Clark County had been formally served, said Neyhart's attorney, Scott Olifant.

He said he expects both entities to be served by the end of the week.

Metro declined to comment on the pending litigation.

Neyhart had her pants and underwear around her ankles when she "turned around to see a male trusty standing in the window, leaning on a broom, watching," she alleged in a grievance filed Oct. 24.

She said she saw two other male trusties nearby and she is not sure if they were watching as well, according to the grievance.

Trusties are inmates who assist in various projects around the jail such as cleaning or working in the cafeteria, Metro Sgt. Rick Barela said. He said the trusties are accompanied by an officer.

Following the incident, the female officer who performed the search told a male officer what happened and that he said those were "the perks of being a trusty," the grievance alleges.

A Metro sergeant, whose signature is illegible, signed the grievance, stating, "the officer involved has been counseled and I apologize for that degrading statement."

The search occurred before Neyhart was transported from the Detention Center to District Court for an appearance, but officers later determined Neyhart did not need to appear, the lawsuit claims.

Neyhart was being held in the Detention Center on felony credit card theft charges at the time of the incident, Olifant said.

She was moved from the Detention Center to the Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Facility in North Las Vegas within two days of the lawsuit being filed, Olifant said.

He said he does not know why Neyhart was moved, but called the move "curious."

Detention Center employees would not comment Monday on when Neyhart was released from the facility.

Olifant said he filed the lawsuit in federal court instead of state court because federal courts are more familiar with the law as it relates to civil rights issues.

The case would probably be resolved more quickly in federal court as well, because the District Court is so inundated with cases, he said.

Olifant said lawsuits such as Neyhart's that seek to address abuses to human dignity are important.

"One of the important functions of the criminal justice system is to return individuals to society in most cases," he said. "So if inmates are in institutions with little or no regard for anyone's intrinsic dignity, the system fails in one of its major functions."