Untrained female cops abused by supervisors in ‘bachelor party’ stings, Texas suit says
Four female deputies are owed $1.5 million from a Texas county after settling a federal sex scandal lawsuit that detailed how rookie deputies were subjected to “disgusting abuse” by male commanders during “bachelor party” sex stings, according to a lawsuit and news outlets.
With no undercover training, female deputies at the Harris County Constable’s Office, Precinct One, were “handpicked” for these operations, then “molested and traumatized by their intoxicated male commanding officers for their own sexual gratification,” the lawsuit said.
When these deputies went to complain, the women were silenced, harassed and, in one case, fired, according to the lawsuit.
Attorneys for Harris County and Constable Alan Rosen did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment. Attorney information for additional Harris County Constable officials named in the lawsuit was not listed.
‘Bachelor parties’
“In order to make arrests in human-trafficking matters, undercover operations and stings are common in which a male undercover officer will pose as a ‘John’ in order to get a trafficked sex worker to agree to an illegal act and then make the arrest,” the lawsuit said. “The intent of this federally funded unit is to encourage these victims to identify the individuals at the heart of the illegal operation and to stop the business at its source.”
Assistant Chief Chris Gore had a different idea in 2019. This time, both male and female deputies were involved, according to the lawsuit.
County-sanctioned “bachelor party” stings were set up in a hotel room, where female deputies would pose as sex workers while male deputies were attendees, according to the court documents. The operation was designed to “entice any prostitutes called to the location to feel more comfortable in quickly agreeing to sex in exchange for a fee, and an arrest could be made,” the lawsuit said.
In preparation for the sting, which was signed off on by Constable Alan Rosen, Gore instructed a rookie deputy to purchase “provocative” clothing, even taking her to a sex store to “pick out some props” paid for with county funds, according to the lawsuit.
All four plaintiffs named in the lawsuit did not receive any undercover training, according to court documents. One was given brief instructions “to wear revealing clothing, simulate sexual activity, and allow Chief Gore to kiss, touch, and fondle her,” according to the lawsuit.
During the stings, Gore pressured female deputies to drink alcohol to “loosen up and have a good time,” ignoring policy for undercover operations, the lawsuit said. Gore is also accused of appearing drunk at the stings, at which point he would molest multiple female deputies posing as sex workers, according to the complaint.
Another plaintiff “was told ‘if the scenario calls for it, you may need to take off your clothes,” according to the lawsuit. Gore took off the plaintiff’s bra during a sting “without warning and for no real reason,” the court documents said.
“What began as an idea for ‘bachelor party’ prostitution stings soon grew into a booze-fueled playground for sexual exploitation in which young, untrained deputies were subject to disgusting abuse,” the lawsuit said.
Several cameras were set up in the room, and that footage was turned over to the district attorney’s office. However, it was reviewed by Lt. Shane Rigdon before it was sent, according to the lawsuit, and footage he said “lacked evidentiary value” was deleted.
Outside of the stings, the female deputies would continually be harassed by male superiors at work, their attorneys say.
One of the plaintiffs asked to be removed from the undercover team after two stings, the lawsuit said. “Reluctantly,” she was removed but was subjected to harassment for “not having what it takes,” according to the complaint.
Set up for abuse
For one plaintiff, the abuse extended beyond the ‘bachelor parties,” attorneys say.
On Aug. 22, 2019, Rosen told a female deputy that his chief of staff had been sexually assaulted at a massage parlor, according to the lawsuit. Rosen wanted to send undercover female deputies into the establishment to get evidence for an arrest, the lawsuit said.
One deputy “was ordered to enter the parlor in an undercover capacity and wait to be sexually assaulted to give the raid signal,” according to the lawsuit. She followed orders and was assaulted, according to court documents, despite there already being “sufficient evidence to make an arrest” prior to her assault.
As Rosen spoke to the press after the bust, the female deputy took herself to get a sexual assault exam and call the district attorney, according to the court documents. .
Reporting abuse
One of the plaintiffs, a human trafficking advocate for the constable’s office, realized these stings devoted “almost no energy or resources to solving cases, giving victims care, following up with trafficked children, or making high-up-the-chain arrests,” according to the lawsuit.
After arrests were made at one sting, Gore “demanded the minor female trafficking victim ‘hurry up’ with her statement and began to yell at her” because he wanted to leave, attorneys say.
When the human trafficking advocate reported the abuse that occurred during the “bachelor parties” to Rosen, she was removed from the human trafficking unit and reassigned.
She eventually reported the abuse to the Sex Crimes Division at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, which launched an internal investigation, according to the lawsuit.
Rosen, in 2021, said the department’s internal investigation “found no violations of law or policy,” KHOU reported.
“This lawsuit is an effort to impugn the good reputation of the hard-working men and women of the Precinct One Constable’s Office,” he said at the time.
The deputy gave a 3-hour interview as part of the investigation, according to the lawsuit, and was fired the next day.
The $1.5 million settlement to the four plaintiffs was approved June 4 by the Harris County Commissioner’s Court, according to KHOU.
“It’s been a long road. Our clients are happy to have this in their rearview mirror and be able to move on with their lives,” one of their attorneys, Cordt Akers, told KPRC.
This story was originally published June 7, 2024 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Untrained female cops abused by supervisors in ‘bachelor party’ stings, Texas suit says."
