Kansas teen was raped by supervisor at city-owned sports complex in Gardner: lawsuit
A Gardner teenager is suing the city after she says she was repeatedly sexually assaulted and ultimately raped by her supervisor at a job working for a city-owned sports complex.
The teen and her father, who are identified by their initials in the lawsuit, said the city failed to protect the 16-year-old despite knowledge that her supervisor regularly engaged in sexual harassment.
The federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S District Court in Kansas City, Kansas.
The City of Gardner did not respond to the Star’s request for comment in time for publication.
According to the lawsuit, the teen started working at the sports complex in May 2018 as a seasonal employee cleaning and maintaining fields. She was regularly scheduled to work alone with her 21-year-old male supervisor, another seasonal employee.
When they worked together, the suit says, her supervisor often made unwelcome sexual advances and comments. He allegedly sexually assaulted her four times on city property during May and June.
The suit does not describe the nature of the assaults but says the supervisor warned the teen that if she did not comply he would “get her ‘in trouble.’”
About 11 p.m. on June 28, the suit says, the supervisor raped the teen on top of her car after they had worked a shift alone together.
Throughout the assault the teen repeatedly said “I don’t want to do this,” and told her supervisor that she needed to get home, according to the suit.
On July 15, the lawsuit says, the teen reported the assault to Gardner Police and was placed on administrative leave by the city.
A police report filed with the Gardner Police Department lists as the location of the crime an address near the Celebration Park Sports Complex at 32501 159th Street.
The lawsuit alleges sex discrimination, Fourteenth Amendment violations, and denial of due process by failing to respond to or prevent discrimination and harassment.
This story was originally published July 25, 2019 at 10:54 AM.
