Woman describes rapes by Milwaukee County Jail guard and giving birth while shackled
John DiedrichA 19-year-old woman testifying in a federal civil trial described Monday how a guard sexually assaulted her in the Milwaukee County Jail in 2013 and how she later was shackled to her hospital bed while giving birth to her daughter.
Those events are the basis of a federal lawsuit by the woman against Milwaukee County. She testified that she was raped several times by corrections officer Xavier Thicklen. The Journal Sentinel does not identify victims of sexual assault without their consent.
Thicklen was charged with sexual assault and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. He also was fired.
The woman testified that Thicklen assaulted her in various places in the jail and that she still has nightmares.
"He used his keys, his power, his authority to get in these places and rape me," she said.
The trial comes as the Sheriff’s Office deals with multiple legal issues and Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. plans to leave for a job in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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The woman was pregnant when she was booked into the jail and the sexual assaults started.
The woman described how she was shackled as she went through labor in late 2013. She was admitted to Aurora Sinai Medical Center at 3 a.m. and delivered a baby girl, who was healthy, 20 hours later.
Clarke said in court documents that shackling is required to protect hospital staff. The lawsuit says such a policy is unconstitutional and can harm the mother and child.
The woman testified that she was not allowed to change position more than a few times during labor, couldn't hold the rails as she wanted, and after the birth she had to be careful not to harm her daughter with the heavy metal handcuffs.
The woman, who had filed 15 grievances during her time behind bars, acknowledged she did not file one on being shackled. She said she saw no use in it.
"They couldn't give me back a normal pregnancy," she said.
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Emily Malloy, a certified nurse midwife, handled the labor and said she tried to get the shackles removed. She testified allowing a woman to move freely during labor is important to speed along the process and is safer for the baby so that oxygen can flow freely.
After the delivery, Malloy received a letter from the woman. Malloy said it was the first she received in 165 births she assisted. It said: "Thank you for treating me like a human being."