The parent of a minor who reported she was sexually assaulted a year ago is suing the Minden Police Department alleging they failed to fully investigate the case.
The lawsuit, filed in district court in May, is seeking an unspecified dollar amount in damages. The city of Minden is also named as a defendant.
The Minden Press-Herald is withholding the plaintiff’s name because the child is the victim of an alleged sex crime.
According to the lawsuit, the Minden Police Department was contacted after the parent brought the child to Minden Medical Center following a sexually assault.
The lawsuit alleges gross negligence on behalf of the police department after an officer declined to proceed with an investigation and a rape test was not ordered, despite a request from the parent and child. The child was later discharged from the hospital and attempted suicide the following morning, the lawsuit claims.
The parent alleges that forensic evidence was lost.
“Petitioner and the minor child lost any chance to secure evidence which would support their claim, and the minor child was left feeling dejected and drowning in despair,” the lawsuit claims
Attorneys for the Minden Police Department declined to comment and have not yet responded to the lawsuit.