“I didn’t think anyone cared about prostitutes,” Abuslin said at a press conference on Wednesday.
She was not specific about her plans for the settlement money, and said only that she felt gratified that she “can now close this chapter and move on with my life.”
Eventually, she said, she would like to go to school and care for animals.
Abuslin is represented by civil rights attorney John Burris, who called the case particularly offensive given that the alleged abuse of the teen stretched across OPD and five other law enforcement agencies.
“It was like a cabal," Burris said. "Officers were passing her around like a kickball."
Burris is representing Abuslin in similar civil rights claims against law enforcement agencies in San Francisco, Richmond and Livermore, as well as Contra Costa and Alameda counties.
Burris said the case was about more than the abuse of one teenager. The officers identified in all of the claims “believed they were above the law” and that no one would care because the teen’s credibility would be called into question, he said.
The officers are supposed to “protect girls young girls -- not take advantage of them,” Burris said.
The case shook the city last year and made national headlines following the sudden departure of Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent. Two following interim police chiefs also resigned within eight days of Whent's departure.
Police departments in Oakland and Richmond have disciplined, demoted and fired dozens of officers.
The Alameda County district attorney has filed criminal charges against six officers, ranging from a misdemeanor for failing to report child abuse to felony oral copulation with a minor.
“The lesson here is if you engage in illegal, improper conduct in the dark,” Burris said, “it will come to light at some point.”
Abuslin recently testified against one defendant and says she will continue to testify as needed against the others.
