Overview
- Prosecutors filed battery and misdemeanor assault-by-a-public-officer charges against Deputy Nanette Musto after she allegedly touched a detained woman’s breast without permission at County Jail No. 2.
- The alleged contact was captured on jail surveillance and the inmate told officials she felt humiliated, with the arraignment for Musto scheduled for Tuesday, July 14 at 9 a.m. in San Francisco.
- Authorities described the battery charge as a California “wobbler,” meaning prosecutors have discretion to pursue it as a misdemeanor or upgrade it to a felony depending on aggravating factors.
- The Sheriff’s Office reassigned Musto, its Criminal Investigations Unit completed an internal probe and referred the case to the district attorney for independent review while the Department of Police Accountability and the DA monitor the matter.
- Advocates note the case fits into wider allegations at the jail, including a May federal class-action suit by women who say deputies strip-searched and filmed inmates, and the outcome could shape further criminal and civil accountability for jail practices.