On Sept. 10, 2015, plaintiff Dominga G. was assigned a court-appointed attorney, Deputy Public Defender Emmanuel Bart-Plange, to represent her in a petty theft case. Dominga claimed that on the day he was assigned, Bart-Plange introduced himself and then took her to an interview room at the courthouse. She claimed that Bart-Plange then ordered her to remove her clothing in another location in the courthouse, but that she refused to do so. She alleged that he ultimately forced her to orally copulate him and then ordered her to leave. In September 2016, Dominga reported the alleged assault to a sheriff’s deputy at the courthouse. Dominga sued Bart-Plange and Bart-Plange’s employer, the county of Los Angeles. Dominga alleged that Bart-Plange’s actions constituted civil rights violations, sexual battery and false imprisonment. Defense counsel denied all of the allegations made by Dominga. Counsel noted that Bart-Plange had been assigned as Dominga’s public defender just for that day and that Bart-Plange was handling the calendars of two courtrooms on the morning when the alleged incident occurred. Defense counsel further asserted that there was no corroboration or evidence to support Dominga’s allegations. Specifically, the defense contended that during the investigation, Dominga was unable to identify the location in the courthouse where she was allegedly assaulted. Counsel also contended that Dominga initially failed to provide key evidence to investigators, which later was confirmed to contain no DNA from Bart-Plange. In addition, defense counsel contended that Dominga waited a year to report the alleged assault and was never able to identify the room in the courthouse where the alleged assault occurred., Dominga claimed she was sexually assaulted, resulting in emotional distress. She underwent psychological counseling after the alleged assault, and she alleged she will need ongoing psychological counseling. Dominga sought recovery of past and future medical costs, as well as damages for her emotional pain and suffering.