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MARTIN COUNTY, Florida (KTVU) - The woman at the center of a Bay Area police sex scandal was released from a Florida jail on Friday, after pleading no contest to misdemeanor battery for attacking a guard at rehab. The felony charges in the incident were dropped.
The 19-year-old woman known as "Celeste Guap" held a news conference from Florida. Guap left the jail with a man who we are told is her father.
Civil rights attorney Pamela Price of Oakland held a news conference with Guap as she was released. Price said she went to the jail in Martin County, Florida to "rescue" Guap and bring her back to the Bay Area, so the officers in the sex scandal can be formally charged.
Price said, "This young woman was involved with seven different police jurisdictions... we believe public safety requires public trust. And that the citizens of the Bay Area as well as the citizens of Stuart, Florida, as well as the citizens of this country have a right to know when public officials - particularly law enforcement are engaged in particularly heinous crimes such as child sex exploitation."
Guap appeared in a conservative blue, short sleeve, cotton dress with a scarf wrapped loosely around her neck. She didn't speak during the news conference.
"As we return to the Bay Area, we intend to hold everyone accountable," said Price. "We have to provide for her security because her life is under threat... we are going to protect this young women get the help she needs. She's going to help us help other (sex trafficking) victims." Price added, "the fact that she is alive is a miracle."
It seems the alias of "Celeste Guap" will no longer be used. "Celeste Guap is dead," said attorney Price as she used Guap's real name of Jasmine Abuslin. (Note: KTVU does not generally identify victims of sex crimes but is using Abuslin's real name based on statements from her attorney.)
Price claimed Abuslin was taken to Florida under false pretenses and said she has been engaged in this lifestyle since she was 12.
In the incident at the rehab facility Guap was being disruptive, according to a police report.
According to the report, Abuslin wouldn't discuss the current incident. Instead, she referred to her past, discussing how many officers she had slept with in California and her past drug use.
The police report says Abuslin ran from the rehab facility, removed her shirt, and flashed passing cars.
A security officer convinced her to return to the facility, where the report says Abuslin became violent.
Abuslin stated she ripped a blind off the window. She said she "blacks out" when she is angry and didn't remember the recent incident.
According to the affidavit, Abuslin stood in an aggressive manner, "balling her fists and taking a bladed stance." She then walked over to a large countertop safe and tried to pull it down. According to the report, Abuslin lunged toward a female security officer. Another officer tried to intervene and she allegedly bit that officer on the forearm.
That security officer went to Martin Memorial Hospital for blood work.
Once under arrest, the report says Guap was in the backseat of a patrol car and began beating her head against the car window and had to be restrained further to prevent her from hurting herself.
"During the entire incident, and transport, Abuslin was attempting to solicit sex from deputies," according to the affidavit.
As part of a plea deal following the incident at rehab, Abuslin wrote a letter of apology to the security guard. Abuslin signed her no-contest plea form with a smiley face and hearts.
Abuslin is a key witness against seven current or former Bay Area law-enforcement officers who are facing criminal charges in Alameda County. District Attorney Nancy O’Malley says she has not formally filed charges against the officers because she needs Abuslin to return to California first.
Investigators say several Bay Area police officers and sheriff's deputies had sex with Abuslin, while she was a minor.
Richmond police say an investigation of their department found eleven current and former officers were involved with Abuslin. A number of them could be fired or reprimanded.
As for future plans, it was also announced that Abuslin would like to become a veterinarian and work to "free other girls".