Iowa Qualified Immunity Law Lets County Off the Hook for Guard’s Sex Abuse of Jail Detainee
Although a guard was fired from Iowa’s Polk County Jail for forcibly kissing and touching him while detained there, Justin Mowry’s lawsuit for damages against the county was dismissed on June 20, 2024. Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Lawrence P. McClellan ruled that Mowry’s complaint failed to clear a pleading bar which was heightened by a 2021 amendment to the state Municipal Tort Claims Act (IMTCA); that now provides something much like federal qualified immunity (QI) for municipal employees who violate a state law which was not “clearly established” at the time.
While detained at the jail from January to March 2022, Mowry was assigned to work in the jail kitchen under the former guard, Brianna Marie Miller. Sheriff Kevin J. Schneider arrested her in June 2022 for sexual misconduct with Mowry and two other unnamed detainees. When she pleaded guilty in January 2023, Miller admitted having “physical contact with [Mowry and the others] by kissing them.”
“I agree that this action on my part was unwanted by these individuals, was done without a legitimate purpose and was likely to cause them annoyance or harm,” her plea added, accepting guilt on a reduced charge of harassment. She was sentenced the following month to three days in jail and ordered to pay more than $300 in fines and costs.
Mowry filed his complaint in December 2023, and Defendant county officials moved to dismiss it in March 2024. In granting that motion, the Court faulted Mowry for providing no details to support his claims of negligent hiring and negligent supervision. Nor did the Court find any support in his pleadings for a respondeat superior liability claim; rather, it agreed with Defendants that “Polk County would not consider nonconsensual sexual touching by guards toward prisoners as a within their scope of employment.” Thus the petition failed. Mowry was represented by attorney Erik A. Luthens of Parrish-Sams Luthens Law PC in West Des Moines. See: Mowry v. Polk Cty., Iowa 19th Jud. Dist. (Polk Cty.), Case No. LACL157380.
Additional source: Des Moines Register
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login