By Laura French
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. — A $600,000 settlement has been reached in a lawsuit against two California police officers, a social worker and a paramedic who allegedly forced a 5-year-old girl to be examined for sexual abuse.
The suit stemmed from a January 2019 incident during which two Mountain View police officers, a Santa Clara County social worker and an AMR paramedic went to the girl’s home as part of a Child Protective Services investigation spurred by a call from a teacher, according to the Palo Alto Daily Post.
The child’s family claims one of the officers threatened them, saying their daughter would be taken away if they did not agree to having her examined by the paramedic in the home. The parents said their daughter was distraught and had to be held down as her clothes were removed and she was examined in their living room.
The paramedic said she found no evidence of sexual abuse during the exam. According to the family, the comments made by the 5-year-old that concerned the teacher were in reference to a playground accident. The parents said they sought counseling for their family following the incident.
Child abuse protocols for law enforcement in Santa Clara county require that child sexual assault investigations be conducted at a medical center, according to the Palo Alto Daily Post.
Of the $600,000 settlement, AMR was ordered to pay $50,000, the city of Mountain View will pay $350,000 for the officers’ involvement and the county will pay $200,000 for the involvement of the social worker.
The settlement does not require an admission of guilt by the defendants.