L.A. County Reaches Settlement in Assault Lawsuit Filed by Inmate

A convicted rapist sentenced to 80 years to life in prison has been awarded $17,500 by Los Angeles County to settle a lawsuit that claimed he was assaulted by other inmates while in the custody of the Sheriff’s Department in 2001, county officials said Friday.

Daniel Zabuski of Canoga Park, who was sentenced last August to state prison for the rape and assault of three women he met through the Internet, sued the county and the Sheriff’s Department in December 2001.

Zabuski, 43, alleged in the suit that he was “beaten beyond recognition” by inmates on various occasions between Jan. 3 and Feb. 13, 2001, while at the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.

He said three sheriff’s deputies implied to other inmates that he had been charged with sexually assaulting a minor, which led to the beatings. He also alleged negligence by the deputies for doing nothing to stop the attacks.

Los Angeles County Deputy Counsel Johanna Fontenot called the settlement a matter of “cost benefit.”

“We were confident we would have prevailed, but this was just one of those cases where we really look at the cost benefit,” Fontenot said. “We think we would have had a good chance at winning at trial, but it didn’t seem worth going to trial.”

Although Zabuski had requested placement in a segregated housing unit because of the nature of the charges against him, at the time of the alleged beatings he was in the jail’s general population.

Zabuski’s lawyer, Norman A. Lewin, could not be reached for comment Friday.