STUART, Fla. — A self-described sex worker at the center of a California sex scandal involving seven current or former police officers is facing an assault charge stemming from an incident at a Florida rehabilitation center, officials said.
The 18-year-old woman, Jasmine Celeste Abuslin, also known by her online name Celeste Guap, had been at the center in Stuart for three days when she was arrested on Aug. 29.
According to a Martin County Sheriff’s Office report, the incident started when Abuslin ran outside the facility and “began flashing passing motorists.”
Staff were able to get her back inside the building, but she became violent with security officers, the report said.
Abuslin bit one of the officers on the arm as they were trying to subdue her, investigators said.
The officer had to be taken to the hospital for blood tests after being bitten, the report said.
As she was taken to the Martin County Jail, Abuslin’s erratic behavior continued, a deputy reported.
“During the entire incident, and transport, Abuslin was attempting to solicit sex from deputies,” the deputy said.
Initially, Abuslin was charged with a felony aggravated battery, but prosecutors later reduced the charge to a misdemeanor, court records show.
According to the Alameda County, California, district attorney seven police officers were charged on June 15 after a three-month investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.
The law enforcement officials charged included employees of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, Livermore Police Department and Oakland Police Department.
They face charges ranging from obstruction of justice and failure to report, to engaging in prostitution and performing a lewd act in public, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy E. O’Malley said.
“I do not take lightly the fact that police officers engaged in sexual contact, or online sexual communication, with a teenaged self-described sex worker,” O’Malley said in a release. “But I want to make clear that today’s decision (to file charges) is not a condemnation of law enforcement departments, or of the men and women who risk their lives every day to keep our communities safe.”
It was not the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office that decided to send the woman to the Florida rehabilitation center, though, O’Malley said.
“To the contrary, we protested her removal from California where she could receive the services she wanted and requested,” O’Malley said. “An agency outside of Alameda County made arrangements to send her out of state, against our wishes and advice.”
With the reduction of the woman’s Florida assault charge from a felony to a misdemeanor, she no longer faces a lengthy prison term that could have derailed criminal prosecution of the officers in California.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Cox Media Group
