CHARLESTON – A female inmate sexually assaulted by a Kanawha County bailiff while she was awaiting a hearing at the county courthouse has filed a federal lawsuit in the matter.
The woman, identified only as C.C.V., filed her complaint August 7 in federal court against former Kanawha County Sheriff’s Deputy Cass Close, another unnamed deputy and the Kanawha County Commission. Deputies serve as bailiffs in Kanawha County.
On July 29, Cass sexually assaulted and abused the plaintiff while she was in custody at the courthouse. The complaint details how Cass made sexual comments to the woman before forcing her to perform sexual acts, exposing himself and taking photographs of her against her will.
Forbes (left), diTrapano
“This is one of the most egregious and disturbing cases alleging assault in custody in the history of West Virginia,” Jesse Forbes, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiff, told The West Virginia Record. “Unfortunately, wolves tend to prey on the weak and when someone is in shackles and locked in a holding cage it is hard to imagine a weaker position to be in. The thought that he continued, allegedly, to torture her for hours through these acts is almost incomprehensible.”
The 54-year-old Close, who lives in Quick, was charged with imposition of sexual acts on persons incarcerated, detained or under supervision. He is being held in a regional jail. The West Virginia State Police is handling the investigation. The criminal complaint charging Close said he provided a confession to investigators, and Close reportedly had been fired and arrested by State Police.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was taken into custody on a years old out-of-state possession charge. While in a holding cell cage on the seventh floor of the Kanawha County Judicial Annex, the plaintiff says Close came out of his office, approached her and asked if she was a natural redhead.
It says Close made obscene comments about how he loved redheads and had never “been” with a redhead before asking her if she shaved “down there” and wondered if “the carpet matched the drapes.”
“Deputy Sheriff Close then took plaintiff, who was in his custody by virtue of his position as a Kanawha County Deputy Sheriff, into his office and forcibly pushed her up against a wall, causing plaintiff to hit her head on a metal box,” the complaint states. “Deputy Sheriff Close acted as if he was going to remove the shackles from plaintiff’s legs but instead jerked her pants and underwear down while leaving her shackled.
“Deputy Sheriff Close then got on his knees, physically inspected her vagina and attempted to perform oral sex on her. Plaintiff attempted to resist, refusing to open her legs. As a result of plaintiff’s resistance, Deputy Sheriff Close became angry, forcibly separated plaintiff’s legs, and yelled at her to stop resisting.
“After forcing plaintiff to comply through physical force and threats under color of law, Deputy Sheriff Close performed oral sex on plaintiff by placing his mouth and tongue in plaintiff’s vagina and physically inserted his finger into plaintiff’s vagina. Deputy Sheriff Close then stood up, pulled his penis out of his pants, forced plaintiff to her knees, clenched her hair and forcibly placed his penis into plaintiff’s mouth.”
The plaintiff says Close then heard someone coming up the hall, so he pulled up her pants and rushed her back into the holding cell.
“Once plaintiff was locked back in the holding cage, she attempted to clean her mouth, vomited in the toilet and began shaking and crying,” the complaint states, also noting Close returned to the holding cell at least two other times. On the second one, the plaintiff says Close continued to subject her to profane and abusive language.
“Deputy Sheriff Close told plaintiff that ‘it was the best blow job I ever had’ and that he wanted to have sex with her,” the complaint states. “(Close) asked if plaintiff wanted to see ‘all of it,’ to which plaintiff did not respond.
“While standing in the doorway to his office out of view of the surveillance camera, Deputy Sheriff Close removed his gun belt, pulled his pants down and revealed to plaintiff that he shaved his body, including his private areas.”
She says Close later returned again and took her to his office.
“Once Deputy Sheriff Close had plaintiff in his office, he grabbed plaintiff, turned her around such that the front of her body was now facing the desk in his office, pushed her against the desk and pulled her pants and underwear down,” the complaint continues. “Deputy Sheriff Close then pulled his penis out of the zipper of his pants and attempted to penetrate plaintiff’s vagina with his penis from behind.
“Plaintiff resisted and struggled despite Deputy Sheriff Close pushing down on her back in an effort to get her to bend at the waist. Deputy Sheriff Close then stated, ‘Oh, you are going to make it hard.’
“Deputy Sheriff Close then turned plaintiff around and forcibly placed her hand on his penis, forcing plaintiff to use her hand to stroke defendant Deputy Sheriff Close’s penis.”
The plaintiff says Close again said he heard someone coming down the hall and again pushed her back into the holding cell cage. When he returned again, she says Close stood out of view of the surveillance camera, removed his gun belt and pulled down his pants again exposing himself to her “while still wearing part of his Kanawha County Deputy Sheriff’s uniform.”
“Throughout this ordeal, Deputy Sheriff Close continued telling plaintiff how he prided himself on treating inmates ‘like human beings,’” the complaint states. “Deputy Sheriff Close sexually harassed and sexually assaulted plaintiff while telling her personal details about his life as well as his role as a deputy sheriff. …
“After plaintiff’s hearing concluded, and while plaintiff was waiting to be returned to South Central Regional Jail, Deputy Sheriff Close again approached plaintiff in the holding cell, made inappropriate profane and abusive comments, and removed his gun belt. He asked plaintiff if she wanted to take a ‘mental picture,’ stating that he could tell she liked what she saw.
“Deputy Sheriff Close again took plaintiff to his office, pulled her pants and underwear down and forced plaintiff to sit on his desk. Deputy Sheriff Close acted like he was taking a picture of plaintiff with his cellular phone, forced her to spread her legs apart, again acted like he was taking a picture, and put his mouth on her vagina, stating he wanted a picture of it ‘wet.’
“Deputy Sheriff Close again inserted his fingers into plaintiff’s vagina, then took a picture of plaintiff’s vagina with his cellular phone. Deputy Sheriff Close took plaintiff back to the holding cell cage and stood there, continuing to talk to her and make inappropriate remarks.”
Security personnel then arrived and took the plaintiff back to the jail, where she reported the incident to her cellmate and a nurse. She then was transported to Thomas Memorial Hospital and treated medically.
“Our client, like many others, was in the court system seeking justice, what she received was the direct opposite,” Dante diTrapano, another attorney representing the woman, told The Record. “The sick and twisted actions alleged here continued for hours with our client under the custody and control of her perpetrator who used the weight of his authority to detain and assault her in unspeakable ways.”
Kanawha County Commission President Ben Salango said the county knew a civil lawsuit would be coming after this incident.
“It’s a terrible and tragic event and should have never happened,” Salango told The Record. “The civil justice part of this will work itself out, and it’s a criminal matter, too. We’ll see how the process plays out. We are going to be very transparent. We’re not going to hide behind a lawyer, and we’re not going to hide behind the statement ‘this is a personnel matter.’
“This is a public matter, and the public deserves answers. And quite frankly, the victim deserves answers, and that’s what we’re working on now,” Salango said.
The plaintiff accuses Close and the unnamed deputy working with him of violating her civil rights. She accuses the commission of negligent training, negligent supervision, negligent retention, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, violations of the West Virginia Human Rights Act and a Monell liability for the violations of its employees.
She seeks general, compensatory and punitive damages as well as pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
The plaintiff is being represented by Forbes and Jennifer N. Taylor of Forbes Law Offices in Charleston as well as by diTrapano, Amanda J. Davis and Timothy D. Houston of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 2:25-cv-491
