Employee allegedly raped by patient at Kansas mental hospital files federal lawsuit

An employee allegedly raped by a patient last year at the Osawatomie State Hospital has filed a sex discrimination and harassment lawsuit against the state of Kansas.

The suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., alleges that the woman and other female employees were exposed to a “sexually hostile work environment,” and had been sexually and verbally abused by male patients.

The woman was working in October 2015 as a mental health technician when she went to a newly admitted patient’s room to take him a gown, according to the suit.

Unknown to the woman, the man had a history of “multiple” attempts to strangle his wife, according to the suit.

“The dangerous patient was involuntarily admitted into (the hospital) to treat his mental illness and because of the likelihood that he could cause substantial physical injury or physical abuse to himself or others,” according to the suit.

When she entered the patient’s room, the woman said he grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth. She was thrown on the bed, choked and raped.

The woman screamed for help, banged on the wall and fought to escape, according to the suit.

The attack lasted for several minutes until two other patients heard the woman’s cries for help and intervened, pulling the attacker away from her until hospital security arrived.

Miami County prosecutors subsequently charged the patient with rape. The criminal case is pending, according to court records.

This story was originally published December 1, 2016 at 8:44 AM with the headline "Employee allegedly raped by patient at Kansas mental hospital files federal lawsuit."