| After plaintiff was sexually assaulted by a deputy acting within the scope of his employment with the sheriff's office, she filed claims of unreasonable search and seizure, equal protection, due process, supervisory liability, and municipal liability under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 1983. The Eighth Circuit reversed the district court's denial of qualified immunity and summary judgment in favor of the sheriff. The court held that the sheriff was entitled to qualified immunity, because prior instances of sexual misconduct were not similar in kind or sufficiently egregious in nature to demonstrate a pattern of sexual assault against members of the public by deputies. Therefore, a reasonable officer in the sheriff's position would not have known that he needed to more closely supervise his deputies, including defendant, or they might sexually assault a member of the public. Furthermore, a reasonable supervisor in the sheriff's position would not know that a failure to specifically train defendant not to sexually assault a woman would cause defendant to engage in that behavior. |
