Jessica Fowler, 31, was booked into Moore County Jail in September 2016 on a probation violation. Five months later, corrections officer Caleb Shane Hopkins began coercing her into sex with him, the federal lawsuit claims.
Hopkins continued to sexually assault her, Fowler claims, until she discovered she was pregnant in May 2017 and informed a jail sergeant.
According to the complaint, Fowler “is a lesbian and not attracted to men, including Defendant Hopkins.” Her attorney says that her sexual orientation adds weight to the allegations against Hopkins, showing their meetings weren’t consensual.
“To me, this shows this is not something she would have sought out,” Ben Raybin, an attorney for Fowler, told The Daily Beast.
“There’s always those questions of victim-blaming and second-guessing,” Rabyn added. “That really, to me, should remove any question about that.”
Attorneys representing Hopkins and Moore County didn’t return messages seeking comment.
Hopkins, 30, is accused of giving Fowler cigarettes and prescription drugs to obtain her silence over the alleged assaults. The officer also allegedly warned her not to tell anyone what happened and said no one would believe her.
The “coercive atmosphere and power imbalance” led to Hopkins repeatedly sexually assaulting Fowler, the complaint alleges. Fowler says she felt she couldn’t refuse Hopkins’ requests because of his power and authority over her.