OK - Taxpayers may have to pay $13.5 million in LE jail rape settlement

JAY — Delaware County Sheriff Jay Blackfox resigned Friday, two days after the county agreed to pay $13.5 million to settle a lawsuit by women alleging they were raped and sexually assaulted in the county jail by law enforcement officers.
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The 15 former female inmates were incarcerated from 2005 to 2010 on charges ranging from drug and alcohol violations to assault and battery and larceny.

Deputy Bill Sanders Sr. and jail administrator Lonnie Hunter were at the center of most of the sexual allegations, while Blackfox was accused of ignoring the inmates' complaints, according to court records.
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The settlement has been a hot topic in Jay because it could raise property taxes by 18 percent.
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Should the settlement fall to the taxpayers, the rise in property taxes would last for three years, said Delaware County Assessor Leon Hurt.

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