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7 year oldCharneisha Corley was a 21-year-old college student with no criminal history when she was pulled over by police in Harris County, Texas on June 21, 2015, for allegedly running a stop sign.
Corley, now 23, was told to step out of the car after deputies said they smelled marijuana. After officers found nothing in the student's vehicle, Corley was told a female deputy had been called to conduct a body search.
#SayHerName is for Charnesia Corley. Raped by cops but barely on the news and no one lost their jobs. It's enraging.
— Krysilove (@krysilove) August 16, 2017
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Upon the deputy’s arrival, that search resulted in Corley apparently being body-slammed to the ground, her pants being roughly ripped off, her legs spread and her vagina probed for 11 excruciating minutes, the newly released dashcam footage shows.
The incriminating footage was released Monday by Corley’s lawyer, Sam Cammack, in an attempt to vindicate his client who has been charged with two misdemeanors; resisting arrest and possession of 0.02 ounces of marijuana.
#CharnesiaCorley is why marijuana must be legalized. Cops raping a black woman on a roadside looking for bits of plant leaves in her vagina
— Jayson (@JayT584) August 16, 2017
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Harris County prosecutor Natasha Sinclair said, “No one in this office stands by the search the way it was conducted.”
“No one condones that. No one thinks it's appropriate. It should not have happened,” she said. However, the deputies involved may not be punished for their actions, with Sinclair saying: “Bad decisions, bad judgement, may not rise to the level of criminal offence.”
Charnesia Corley was sexually assaulted by police. All officers who stood by and allowed it to happen should be fired and charged too #Texas
— BADNAN (@AdnanRashid) August 16, 2017
The two deputies, Ronaldine Pierre, 34, and William Strong, 37, were put on office duties pending the outcome of the case against Corley and could face prosecution depending if the case goes to trial.
Criminal charges against the deputies involved were dropped by the DA on August 4, the day the case was set for trial, but refiled minutes later citing new “secret” evidence. Cammock has asked for a special prosecutor with no ties to Harris County to handle the case.
Cammack told LawNewz that the female deputy made a deal with DA prosecutors to testify against the other two deputies in exchange for avoiding indictment. Cammack called the prosecutors' process “disgusting,” because he believes it denied necessary information to the grandy jury.
“At the end of the day … I believe this District Attorney did a favor for somebody,” he said.
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