A jury has ruled in favor of a Citrus County deputy accused of forcibly strip-searching a Dunnellon woman during a traffic stop in 2011.

The civil lawsuit stems from a traffic stop that happened in July 2011, when Leila Tarantino, 38, was pulled over for allegedly running a stop sign.

Tarantino filed the lawsuit against the Citrus County Sheriff's Office in September 2012, in which she argued that Deputy Andra Canfield illegally strip-searched her during the traffic stop and made her stand outside while naked for at least five minutes.  

The lawsuit also alleged that Canfield forcefully removed a feminine hygiene product from Tarantino's body.

The Citrus County Sheriff's Office disputes Tarantino's version of events. They said Tarantino was not cooperative with deputies, and they suspected she might be hiding something in her bra, so the male deputy called for Canfield to perform a patdown on Tarantino.

During the patdown, officials said Canfield noticed a bulge in Tarantino's pants and asked what it was. Tarantino reportedly told her it was a female hygiene product,  and when Canfield said she knew what it was and how it was used, Tarantino removed it and dropped it on the deputy's boot.

Officials said Tarantino was cited for violating restrictions on her driver's license and given a written warning for rolling through the stop sign, but she was never strip-searched.

The lawsuit was heard in the U.S. District Court in Marion County this week, and ultimately the jury found in favor of Canfield, the sheriff's office said.