DENVER—The family of a 15-year-old girl is suing El Paso County, saying she was forced to undergo a strip-search by a caseworker investigating abuse.
The family argues that the caseworker’s demand to take pictures of the girl’s naked buttocks to prove a crime is akin to child abuse, The Denver Post reported Thursday ( ).
The family is also asking state Attorney General John Suthers to explain whether Colorado law permits caseworkers to strip-search children without consent.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this year. It says that after the girl and her parents refused the photograph in the family’s garage in 2012, the County’s Department of Human Services took custody of all of the family’s children. The four children were returned to the home months later.
The caseworker allegedly ordered the girl to pull down her pants so the caseworker could photograph the girl’s buttocks to show bruising. According to the lawsuit, the caseworker called police to make the girl cooperate.
A spokeswoman for El Paso County Department of Human Services declined to comment on the litigation. The newspaper did not name the family that filed the lawsuit in in U.S. District Court.
Theresa Sidebotham, attorney for the Colorado Springs family, said caseworker searches could traumatize children.
“Not only are casual strip-searches likely to be perceived as sexual abuse, but they erode child safety by creating confusion about which adults can legitimately ask to see a child’s private parts,” she said.
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Information from: The Denver Post,
