Mother Files Miami-Dade County Lawsuit Against Opa-Locka Police After Her Mentally Disabled Son’s Alleged Rape

A 31-year-old woman is suing the Opa-Locka Police Department. She claims that the police refused to enforce the restraining order against her ex-boyfriend Victor Howard. She contends that although she wanted Howard out of her house, she was the one that police threatened to arrest if she didn’t go. She claims that they made her leave her mentally disabled son behind, which allowed Howard to allegedly rape and beat him. She says that because to city cops violated her son’s civil rights and left him with her boyfriend.

Howard, 49, has been arrested for the alleged sexual battery of a minor. He has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charge.

The boy, 12, has the intellectual abilities of a small child. He sustained a traumatic brain injury during a car wreck and has been diagnosed with mental retardation that makes comprehension difficult for him. Although Howard is the biological father of two of the plaintiff’s four children, the boy is not his son. The woman says that because the restraining order only gave her sole custody of the two kids that Howard fathered, the cops let the boy stay with him.

Miami-Dade Sexual Assault Cases
If you or someone you love was sexually assaulted, you may be able to sue the attacker for Miami personal injury. In addition to the assailant, there may be others who should also be held liable. For example, if the assault took place on someone else’s property, and that person could have/should have acted to prevent the sexual assault from happening, he/she could be held liable. If there is a party that allowed the assailant to have access to the victim, that party could also be held liable.

Sexual assault is a violent and traumatic crime that can scar a victim for life. There may be a way to hold all negligent parties liable.

Alleged rape victim’s mom sues Opa-locka police, The Miami Herald, May 31, 2011
Opa-Locka Facing Lawsuit Over Alleged Rape, NBC Miami, June 1, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Opa-Locka Police Department

Florida Restraining Orders, Womens Law

More Blog Posts:
Miami Personal Injury: Four Women Claim They Were Sexually Assaulted by Employees at Doral Golf Resort & Spa, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, March 28, 2011
Florida Doctor Named in Sex Abuse Civil Cases Faces Criminal Charges for Alleged Fondling Incidents, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, June 11, 2008
Florida Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit Blames Ft. Lauderdale Church For Failing to Protect Teenager From Adoptive Father, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, May 19, 2008

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