LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Clark County has settled a lawsuit with more than two dozen women who said they were sexually assaulted during a 2021 security breach at the jail in Jeffersonville.
The lawsuit was filed after 28 women claimed they were sexually assaulted by male inmates who were given keys to their cells by a corrections officer. Twenty-five women settled lawsuits totaling $328,000.
The money will be divided among the plaintiffs, with most receiving $10,000, although some will receive up to $25,000. Although the county agreed to pay the money to settle the lawsuit, it's not admitting wrongdoing. The funds for the settlement will be paid by the county's insurance carrier.
Former Clark County Jail officer David Lowe is accused of selling keys to male inmates who then accessed female dorms.
David Lowe -- the former guard accused of selling the keys to an inmate for $1000 -- faces criminal charges and is scheduled to go to trial in July.
The alleged assaults happened under the watch of former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel. He challenged the inmates' claims, saying the assaults never happened.
He even created a website, "Clark County Facts," to dispute the claims. The website suggested there were questions about whether some of the inmates were pressured to make false claims for the purpose of the lawsuit.
Noel is currently serving a 60-day jail sentence in Scott County, Ind., for contempt after he violated a court order prohibiting him from owning more than one firearm while a fraud and corruption case against him and his family members moves through the court system.
WDRB reached out to the attorneys representing the women, but haven't heard back yet. Here's what Perry McCall, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, had to say in a previous 2022 interview with WDRB:
"We were confident that these ladies were telling the truth and they were genuine in what happened to them," McCall said.
Related Content:
- Clark County sheriff maintains allegations of sexual assault inside jail are 'blatantly false'
- Clark County sheriff refutes claims of sexual assault inside jail, but attorney says evidence proves otherwise
- Clark County sheriff releases surveillance video, refutes claim that women were sexually assaulted inside jail
- Clark County Democrats call for sheriff's resignation after 28 women allege sexual assault inside jail
- 8 women file federal lawsuit claiming they were sexually assaulted in Clark County Jail
- Former Clark County corrections officer accused of allowing inmates access to keys
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