Ramsey County to pay $1 million settlement to woman sexually assaulted by prisoner transport guard

Ramsey County settles $1 million lawsuit with woman over sexual assault

Ramsey County has agreed to a seven-figure payout to settle a lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, the woman had sued the county for negligence after she was sexually assaulted by an employee of a prisoner transport company the county had contracted.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Ramsey County has agreed to a seven-figure payout to settle a lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the woman had sued the county for negligence after she was sexually assaulted by an employee of a prisoner transport company the county had contracted.

A major seven-figure payout

The backstory:

According to the county’s resolution memo, "In 2018, Ramsey County contracted with Inmate Services Corp., ("ISC") to transport detainees to Ramsey County from other jurisdictions who are subject to a warrant."

According to the lawsuit, in 2020, a woman was being transported "from Washington state to Ramsey County to appear on a DUI warrant."

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said during that transport, a private prisoner transport officer, Rogeric Hankins, raped her at a rest stop in Missouri.

According to the DOJ, in the criminal case, Hankins was sentenced to 9 years in federal prison.

Woman sues Ramsey County

What they're saying:

The woman sued the county last year.

In the woman’s lawsuit, she said the county was negligent and the documents said Ramsey County "knew or should have known that ISC’s transport officers had similarly raped and/or sexually assaulted numerous female detainees before the contract period and during the contract period."

Attorneys for the woman and the county had reached a settlement agreement in recent weeks. The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners voted on Tuesday and unanimously approved to pay $1 million to settle the lawsuit.

In response to the agreement, her attorney sent FOX 9 this statement. 

"[She] is a mentally tough woman who's been through a terrible ordeal, but fought through it. This settlement helps end a bad chapter. She will do wonderful things as she moves forward with the next stage of her life."

Although she is named in public records, FOX 9 does not name survivors of sexual assault.