Ex Jail Inmate Says Nebraska Sheriff Mishandled her Abuse

An Iowa woman says officials in one southeast Nebraska county didn’t respond properly to the abuse she endured in jail, so she is suing Cass County.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of 27-year-old Claudia Leiva Deras, of Storm Lake.

The lawsuit says Leiva Deras was attacked repeatedly by another inmate during a period of several months in late 2009.

County officials referred questions to their insurance company, which didn’t immediately respond to a message Tuesday.

Leiva Deras didn’t initially report the abuse because she feared her attacker. The lawsuit says that when Leiva Deras did report the abuse, officials refused to allow her to see a doctor.

Leiva Deras was being detained because of questions about her immigration status, which were later resolved.