The arrest papers stated Saldana was a man. FBI and NCIC files also labeled Saldana's gender as male, according to court documents.
But after processing, Saldana, who self-identifies as a woman, was taken to Riverside.
The Philadelphia Prison System's policy allows a transgendered inmate who has undergone gender reassignment to be placed in a facility appropriate for the new gender.
The policy is less clear about how to handle inmates before gender reassignment. Inmates should be placed in accordance with their gender as determined by their external genitalia, it states. But the policy also adds the determination should take into account the recommendations of a qualified medical staff person.
"We just don't say you have male genitalia so we're going to put you here," said prisons spokeswoman Shawn Hawes. "We try to house people so that they're safe and the other inmates are safe, it was assumed she was female."
When admitted to prison, all inmates are required to strip naked so that nurses can conduct a body search. The suit claims that the nurses neglected to conduct a complete search and that somehow Saldana, who has ample cleavage and long dark hair, slipped through.
After the initial search, nurses performed a pelvic examination, a urine test for pregnancy and a chest X-ray. The suit claimed that nurses failed to take notice of Saldana's penis and Saldana was placed in the D-Unit of the women's prison.
