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A woman who arrived at the jail next to Manhattan criminal court to visit a detainee last August was given a curt instruction: sign a consent form and undergo a search.

Believing that she had no choice, the woman complied, a prosecutor said in court on Monday. A correction officer told her to pull down her pants and spread her legs, while other officers stood nearby and watched.

She was then instructed to lower her underwear and remove a sanitary napkin. The officers found no contraband, the prosecutor said.

This search was one of five illegal searches described in a 27-count indictment unveiled on Monday against five guards and a former supervisor who worked at the Manhattan Detention Complex on Centre Street, a jail known colloquially as the Tombs.