Harrison Keegan

HKEEGAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM

A transgender woman is suing the sheriff, claiming her civil rights were violated during a strip search at the Greene County Jail.

The woman, who is identified in the lawsuit as J.G., said she was booked into the jail on a 24-hour hold and jailers conducted two strip searches on her — the second one for the sole purpose of checking her genitals.

The lawsuit, which was originally filed last month in state court but later moved to federal court, lists three jailers as defendants in addition to Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott.

Arnott did not respond to a News-Leader request for comment. An attorney representing the sheriff has filed a response in the case, denying many of the lawsuit's allegations.

J.G. was born as a male, but after sexual reassignment surgery she now lives her life as a female, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says J.G. was booked into the Greene County Jail on a 24-hour hold. It does not say when this occurred or what offenses J.G. was charged with.

During the booking process, a female member of the jail staff performed a strip search on J.G. during which J.G.'s genitals were visible, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says J.G. was then assigned a cell in the female section of the jail where she spent the night.

The next day, the lawsuit says, the arresting officer questioned why J.G. was being held in the female wing of the jail.

Jail staff members then conducted a second strip search observed by a male and female jailer to determine J.G.'s genital status, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says the second strip search violated the sheriff's office policy and "was conducted solely for the purpose of sexing her like a baby chick on an assembly line."

After J.G. was identified as a transgender inmate, she was put in protective custody and isolated from the other inmates, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit does not ask for a specific dollar amount.

A separate court filing by the sheriff's attorney says J.G. was a booked into the jail on suspicion of second-degree domestic assault.

In the response filed after the lawsuit, the attorney for the sheriff and jailers says no constitutional violations occurred and J.G. did not suffer any damages.