Woman with developmental disabilities asks Sedgwick County for policy changes: 'Total black eye for our department'
After a federal jury awarded her more than $8 million for her alleged sexual assault at the hands of the former Sedgwick County sheriff, Peattina Biggs, a woman with developmental disabilities, is now asking the county to change the way it transports female prisoners so there are no repeats of what she says happened to her.
According to a change.org petition, Biggs is now asking Sedgwick County to reinstate what was called the "Matron Program," which required a female county employee to accompany all female detainees during jail transports.
"Re-institution of the Matron Program will prevent future sexual assaults of female and child detainees," reads the online petition.
In 2016, Biggs says the former Sedgwick Sheriff, Tom Hanna, sexually assaulted her at his home when he said he was transporting her from one jail to another. She said Hanna told her if she said anything about what had happened, "I'd go to prison for the rest of my life, and I was scared." Biggs' attorney estimates that she functions at the level of an eight to 10-year-old.
At a civil trial last month, a federal jury found in favor of Biggs and awarded her $8.25 million.
Hanna has not responded to requests for comment from CBS News Colorado.
The new petition says Biggs did away with the Matron Rule when he was sheriff, but that reinstating it would "prevent access and opportunity for police officers to sexually assault vulnerable community members" and would also protect law-abiding officers from unfounded allegations.
Jonathan Eddy, an attorney representing Sedgwick County told CBS News Colorado "The County has no comment at this time."
But the current sheriff, Phil Biersdorfer, told CBS News Colorado that since the Biggs case, all Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office vehicles now have GPS tracking and the county van used to transport inmates now has an onboard camera.
"This was a total black eye for our department," said Biersdorfer.
He went on to say that other department rules and procedures have been changed due to the Biggs case.
"We must demand accountability, we must demand change," reads the online petition.
