A former Santa Barbara jail inmate who was sexually assaulted by a jail employee in 2018 will receive a $2 million settlement from Santa Barbara County after suing them in federal court over claims he The Sheriff’s Office’s “policy of inaction” and “deliberate indifference” eliminated the means for her sexual assault to occur.

According to the undisputed facts of the case, in 2018 the applicant – identified as Jane Doe – was to be transferred from the main prison to a residential treatment center to complete her sentence. During the transport, Salvador Vargas, then working as a discharge planner, forced Doe to perform oral sex on him while he was stopped at a State Street pharmacy to pick up Doe’s prescribed medication. Doe had been dealing with sexual advances and innuendos from Vargas for some time prior to the attack.

Vargas pleaded guilty to forcible oral copulation and sexual activity with an inmate on the eve of his criminal trial in 2022. He is currently serving a three-year prison sentence.

“The question in this case was not whether or not the assault occurred, but whether the county could be held liable,” said Neil Gehlawat, Doe’s attorney. “This is not just a broken elbow that can heal itself.”

Court records indicate that three sexual misconduct complaints were filed against Vargas prior to the attack on Doe. In two, the deputy investigators did not interview the victims. In the third case, the victim was interviewed and believed, and two deputies took her complaint up the chain of command. The court found that one deputy was instructed to “ignore” by her sergeants and the other deputy “believed they were instructed by the (Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office) sergeants to ‘bury’ the report.”

A further deposition revealed that “Vargas allegedly beat and sexually assaulted a social worker who assists inmates” the same year he attacked Doe. This battery went unreported due to fears of retaliation and “(losing) access to the inmates he worked to protect.”

“We are happy that our client can finally begin the road to healing from this preventable trauma,” Gehlawat said.