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$66M lawsuit filed as 2 cops formally charged in Bay Area sex scandal

By KTVU R Staff
Published  September 16, 2016 10:31pm PDT
News
KTVU FOX 2

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OAKLAND (KTVU) -- Lawyers representing the woman at the center of a sex scandal that has ensnared several Bay Area law enforcement officers filed a $66 million civil claim against Oakland on Friday, the same day that county prosecutors formally filed charges against two local cops caught up in the case.

The developments are the latests twists in the ongoing saga involving Jasmin Abuslin, formerly known as "Celeste Guap." 

The criminal complaint outlines charges against two former officers: Daniel Black, who worked on the Livermore police force, and LeRoy Johnson, a former sergeant for the Oakland Police Department.

The charges against Black include: two counts of engaging in lewd conduct; two counts of engaging in prostitution; and one count of furnishing alcohol to a minor.  >>>>>Criminal Complaint: Click  here

The civil complaint alleges that Abuslin was "exploited by pimps and made to sell her body for money." 

"Instead of providing her a way out of her exploitation, Officer (Brendan) O'Brien and his fellow officers and deputies continued to traffic, rape, victimize and exploit a teenage girl who needed to be rescued."

>>>>>>Civil complaint: Click here

Abuslin has told investigators and news reporters that she had sex with over two dozen Bay Area officers over the past two years and that some of the behavior occurred while she was still underage. (Note: KTVU does not generally identify victims of sex crimes but is using Abuslin's real name based on statements this week from her attorney.)

When Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley announced the charges against the seven officers on Sep. 9, she said the officers' conduct was "morally reprehensible."

According to the criminal complaint, Black arranged to pick up Jasmin in his RV twice in April. 

During the first meeting at a Berkeley restaurant on April 8, the conversation "turned sexual in nature," authorities said. Black leaned closer to Jasmin and said, "Just to be clear, I'm not paying you, but I will buy you dinner," court records show.

The two then returned to his RV, which was parked in a parking lot visible from a public street - and engaged in oral sex, authorities said. The next morning, they had sex in the RV, investigators said. "Black furnished (the woman) with alcoholic beverages inside the motor home," authorities said.

On April 13, the two went to an Albany restaurant and then engaged in oral sex in his RV, authorities said.

A separate complaint accuses former Oakland police Sgt. Johnson of failure to report child abuse, also a misdemeanor charge.

Abuslin reportedly told investigators that she was in Puerto Rico with her mother, an Oakland police dispatcher, on Sept. 21, 2015.

While communicating with Johnson, a family friend on Facebook Messenger, she "disclosed to Johnson that she had engaged in sex with other members of the Oakland Police Department, some of which occurred prior to her 18th birthday," investigators said in court records.

Abuslin kept a screenshot of the conversation and showed it to investigators, according to an affidavit. Authorities found another screenshot in which Johnson allegedly wrote, "Tell me you were an adult." 

"I'd (be) lying," Abuslin responds, according to investigators.

Abuslin was sent to a rehab in Stuart, Florida but was accused of assaulting a security guard, which ended in her arrest and a stay at the Martin County jail. The woman was released after striking a plea deal and agreeing to write a letter of apology to the guard.

Attorneys for Abuslin held a news conference in Florida on Wednesday and then again on Thursday in Oakland.

Charles Bonner, one of her lawyers, said: "Jasmine is safe and she expresses her sincere thanks and gratitude to not only the people in the Bay Area, but to the people across the country and the world who have offered their prayers, support and compassion as she transcends this ordeal. She is a new lady and is committed to a new course of conduct."

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KTVU reporter Henry Lee contributed to this report.