Women in Orange County, California homeless shelters are subjected to “unchecked groping” and “lewd propositions” by shelter staff, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) claims in a sexual assault lawsuit lodged against the county, the city of Anaheim, and shelter operators.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the lawsuit comes a year after a report revealed troubling conditions at Orange County emergency shelters, including sex abuse, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions. The ACLU says that the shelters have failed to take action, forcing the advocacy organization to file the lawsuit.

“To spend nights in Orange County emergency shelters for people experiencing homelessness, women have had to endure relentless sexual harassment, including highly invasive body searches and voyeurism from staff members, as well as unchecked groping and lewd propositions,” an ACLU representative said in a statement released after the lawsuit was filed.

The ACLU and a private law firm are representing plaintiffs including shelter residents who say that they were subjected to sexual assault. The lawsuit also describes shelters infested with vermin and bedbugs. Further, the plaintiffs claim that hygiene facilities at the shelters are often inoperable, along with temperature regulations.

Though Top Class Actions generally focuses on class action lawsuits, we also report on subjects that may impact thousands of people across the country, including sexual assault and sexual abuse.

California Homeless Shelters Lawsuit

The plaintiffs, all of whom are women, detail instances of groping, sexually suggestive comments, and sexual assaults. They also say they were subjected to body searches and pat-downs that were more frequent and invasive than male shelter residents.

Further, the plaintiffs allege that when they complained about the sexual harassment, they experienced retaliation at the hands of shelter operators.

According to the ACLU, those experiencing homelessness are forced into shelters. The group’s statement points out that, for those who don’t have housing, the only alternative is to sleep on the streets and potentially get arrested.

“Shelter residents, some of the most vulnerable people in our society, are forced to choose between living in these inhumane conditions or living on the street,” states the complaint, “where they risk arrest, theft, violence, and prosecution for sleeping outdoors.”

The plaintiffs lived in three California homeless shelters, all in Orange County: Bridges at Kraemer Place, La Mesa in Anaheim, and The Courtyard in Santa Ana. The shelters are run by Illumination Foundation, Midnight Mission, and Mercy House Living Centers & Protection America, according to the Times, and these operators are also named as defendants.

The lawsuit accuses the shelter operators, as well as Orange County and Anaheim, of negligence, the unlawful expenditure of public funds, and violations of equal protection and due process. Further, the lawsuit alleges battery, sexual battery, invasion of privacy, discrimination, and harassment.

According to the Voice of OC, a spokesperson for the city of Anaheim defended the quality of the shelters.

“Our shelters are among the best in Orange County and provide a better option to life on the streets and a pathway out of homelessness,” the spokesperson said in a written statement.

“We value resident well-being and dignity and hold our operators to high standards with a process for concerns to be heard and addressed. We have just become aware of what is being asserted, have not had a chance to fully review and cannot comment beyond that.”

The lawsuit is seeking a court order forcing the shelters to improve conditions, as well as punitive damages.

The California Homeless Shelter Sexual Assault Lawsuit is Case No. unknown in the Superior Court of the State of California County of Orange.