Strip-search payouts delayed as outstanding debts probed

PORTLAND – Men and women who were strip-searched at the York County Jail may have to wait a while longer for the $3.3 million payout from a class-action lawsuit.

State officials who learned that more than 20 percent of those who were strip-searched owe child support or alimony have put the settlement checks on hold because they say children and former spouses should get first dibs on the money.

“These people have unpaid support obligations. Those obligations should be satisfied first,” said Assistant Attorney General Chris Taub.

David Webbert, an attorney for the class-action plaintiffs, said the state order discriminates against class members who don’t owe money. He also said disclosure of the names would violate a court confidentiality order.

“We really want to get the payments out before the holidays,” Webbert said.

A conference on the matter was held Thursday in federal court, but no ruling was issued.

The settlement is the result of a lawsuit filed in 2002 by Michele Nilsen of North Andover, Mass., who was arrested in 1999 in Ogunquit on a charge of driving with a suspended license.

In the lawsuit, Nilsen claimed that the York County Sheriff’s Department broke the law by requiring all people brought to the jail to strip and shower in front of an officer – no matter how minor the charge – from 1996 to 2004.